Italy skipper Sergio Parisse is back in the squad and will lead Nick Mallett's 26-man party on their tour of South Africa.
Number eight back to captain Italy on South Africa tour
Italy skipper Sergio Parisse is back in the squad and will lead Nick Mallett's 26-man party on their tour of South Africa.
Parisse missed out on Italy's RBS Six Nations campaign due to a serious knee injury, but the influential number eight is now back in the fold.
The Argentina-born star will provide Mallett's team with a big boost as they look to bounce back from finishing last in the Six Nations this year.
The talented Parisse was the first Italian player to be nominated for the IRB player of the year award in 2008, although he was beaten to that accolade by Welshman Shane Williams.
Scrum-half Simon Picone is also back in the Italy squad, after he was sidelined with injury after playing in their opening Six Nations clash.
Italy travel to South Africa on June 13 and will play face the world champions in two matches - on June 19 in Witbank and a week later in East London.
Forwards: Matias Aguero (Saracens/ENG), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais/FRA), Marco Bortolami (Gloucester/ENG), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester/ENG), Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Viadana), Paul Derbyshire (Padova), Quintin Geldenhuys (Viadana), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso), Fabio Ongaro (Saracens/ENG), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais/FRA, cap.), Salvatore Perugini (Bayonne/FRA), Josh Sole (Viadana), Manoa Vosawai (Parma), Alessandro Zanni (Treviso)
Backs: Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais/FRA), Riccardo Bocchino (Rovigo), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont/FRA), Craig Gower (Bayonne/FRA), Andrea Masi (Racing Metro/FRA), Luke McLean (Treviso), Simon Picone (Treviso), Matteo Pratichetti (Viadana), Kaine Robertson (Viadana), Michele Sepe (Viadana), Tito Tebaldi (Gran Parma)
