Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named a wider 33-man squad to prepare to face the Springboks this weekend, but it comes with the Azzurri in the midst of a major injury crisis.

Italy have confirmed 15 key men are unavailable through injury for the upcoming Test in Turin, a list that includes Ignacio Brex, Sebastian Negri, Tommaso Menoncello and captain Michele Lamaro.

The Azzurri come into the opening Test against the Boks in search of an improved record, after finishing July’s Nations Championship block bottom of the Northern Hemisphere table with three losses.

Italy name extended squad for Springboks clash amid injury crisis

The headlines within Quesada’s squad will inevitably come from the injury list, with the aforementioned men joined by Giulio Bertaccini, Malik Faissal, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Izekor, Louis Lynagh, Giulio Marini, Martin Page-Relo, David Odiase, Mirco Spagnolo, Edoardo Todaro and Andrea Zambonin.

Tighthead Marco Riccioni is also unavailable for family reasons.

However, there is still a strong cohort at the head coach’s disposal. Ange Capuozzo returns to the fold for the first time since the Six Nations after missing the July tour through injury, while regular features Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Niccolò and Lorenzo Cannone, Tommaso Allan, Paolo Garbisi and Monty Ioane all feature.

Commenting on his squad and the upcoming Test, Quesada said: “One of the greatest challenges in the history of Italian rugby awaits us: four consecutive matches against four of the best teams in the world. I have complete confidence in the players available.

“The three-day training camp with the full squad reaffirmed everyone’s great enthusiasm and determination. I’m confident that every player will seize this opportunity to demonstrate their value and the team’s character.”

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Elsewhere, the Azzurri boss has also called in five uncapped men in the form of Mattia Midena, Samuele Locatelli, Damiano Mazza, Federico Zanandrema and former Argentina international Domingo Miotti,

Miotti’s inclusion comes after serving the three-year stand-down period from Los Pumas, winning the last of his nine Test caps back in 2022, and qualifies for Italy via his Grandfather.

“As for Domingo, it all started three years ago when I arrived in Italy,” Quesada explained of the Montpellier back’s inclusion. “He let me know that, having an Italian Grandfather, he could represent the Italian national team. This year, we resumed contact. He explained that he would wait until July and that he would be happy to be considered for the Italian national team.

“Without making any commitments, we have explored this possibility. Domingo is a great player and an excellent person. He has shown great motivation and, despite having the opportunity to represent both countries, he made this decision. We are happy to welcome him and believe this is the right time to get to know him and integrate him into the group. He was unavailable last week due to injury, but he can now resume training as normal.

“With Paolo Garbisi, Tommaso Allan, Giacomo Da Re, and Domingo Miotti, we have four interesting options at fly-half, each with different characteristics. This gives us greater depth and healthy internal competition, which is very positive for the national team.”

Lorenzo Pani and Jaheim Noel Wilson have also been included in the wider squad as ‘invited athletes’.

Italy squad v Springboks in full

Forwards: Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolò Cannone, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Samuele Locatelli, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Mattia Midena, Ion Neculai, Ivan Nemer, Giacomo Nicotera, Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, Alessandro Ortombina, Federico Ruzza, Ross Vintcent, Giosuè Zilocchi, Manuel Zuliani

Backs: Tommaso Allan, Mirko Belloni, Ange Capuozzo, Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Garbisi, Matt Gallagher, Monty Ioane, Leonardo Marin, Damiano Mazza, Domingo Miotti, Federico Mori, Paolo Odogwu, Stephen Varney, Federico Zanandrea

Invited athletes: Lorenzo Pani and Jaheim Noel Wilson