Troncon recalled to Italy squad

Italy coach Pierre Berbizier has named scrumhalf Alessandro Troncon in the 24-man squad for their opening Six Nations matches against France and England.

Former Italy captain Troncon is the Azzurri's most capped player with 90 appearances, but seemed to have closed his international career after a 56-13 defeat by France at the end of the 2005 Six Nations tournament.

"I hope Alessandro is pleased to be called back into the squad. For us it's a big pleasure," Berbizier said today.

"He is an important player for Italy, and I think he's still got a lot to give, particularly in helping to develop our younger players. He has great international experience and that's what makes a difference at this level.

"Italy don't have the same depth of international experience that other Six Nations sides have, so I think we should draw on any player that can give us an advantage."

Troncon's return to the squad gives Berbizier an alternative to Paul Griffen, who looked occasionally hesitant in the test matches against Australia, Argentina and Canada in November.

Berbizier will also hope the 33-year-old's presence can help turn Italy's recent lively displays into points and victories.

Last year, Italy held second-half leads against France, England and Ireland, but finished with just one point from an 18-18 draw against Wales.

That was scant reward for arguably their liveliest set of performances since being admitted to the competition in 2000.

This time they have to hit the ground running. Their opening game against champions France in Rome on February 3rd is followed a week later by a trip to Twickenham to face England.

"The first two matches will be extremely important for us," said Berbizier. "They will set the tone for the rest of the competition. We certainly can't afford to be intimidated. If we play defensively, we will lose badly."

In recent years Italy have had to be content with winning the odd match in the competition and avoiding the wooden spoon.

Asked whether he was targeting any game in particular, Berbizier said: "I don't want to single out any one team.

"All the teams are difficult in this competition, so we just have to prepare for each one as it comes. Last year we pushed hard in all our matches, so this year I think our aim should be to win them all."

Italy squad:

Mauro Bergamasco and Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), Valerio Bernabo (Calvisano), Marco Bortolami (Gloucester), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers), Denis Dallan (Stade Francais), Roland De Marigny (Calvisano), Santiago Dellape (Biarritz), Carlo Festuccia, Paul Griffen (Calvisano), Andrea Lo Cicero (L'Aquila), Andrea Masi (Biarritz), Carlos Nieto (Gloucester), Fabio Ongaro (Saracens), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais), Salvatore Perugini (Toulouse), Ramiro Pez (Bayonne), Kaine Robertson (Viadana), Andrea Scanavacca (Calvisano), Josh Sole (Viadana), Alessandro Troncon (Clermont-Auvergne), Maurizio Zaffiri (Calvisano), Alessandro Zanni (Calvisano).