Former England U20 lock Sisi earns Italy call-up

Former England Under-20 international David Sisi has been named in Italy's squad for a pre-Six Nations training squad.

The uncapped Zebre lock was among the 31 players selected for a camp in Rome from January 20-23.

Back-row Marco Barbini was also selected and will be hoping to win a first cap since March 2015.

Conor O'Shea has also given the call to wing Angelo Esposito, who missed the Six Nations last year due to a knee injury. 

Flanker Maxime Mbanda will report for training, having recovered from a knee injury of his own.

Italy squad:

Forwards: Simone Ferrari, Andrea Lovotti, Tiziano Pasquali, Cherif Traore, Giosuè Zilocchi, Luca Bigi, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Dean Budd, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Alessandro Zanni, Marco Barbini, Maxime Mbanda, Sebastian Negri, Sergio Parisse, Abraham Jurgens Steyn, Jimmy Tuivaiti (Zebre Rugby).

Backs: Guglielmo Palazzani, Tito Tebaldi, Tommaso Allan, Carlo Canna, Ian McKinley, Giulio Bisegni, Michele Campagnaro, Tommaso Castello, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Benvenuti, Angelo Esposito, Jayden Hayward, Edoardo Padovani, Luca Sperandio.