Martin Castrogiovanni

The Italian team was given a clean bill of health ahead of their encounter with South Africa at Stadio Euganeo in Padua on Saturday – the last match of their year-end campaign.

After a credible 24-13 win over Samoa in their opening match, the Azzurri slipped to an 18-20 to Argentina last week.

Jacques Brunel’s charges, determined to get back on the winning track and record their first-ever win over the Springboks in what will be the 12th encounter between the countries, returned to the training field on Monday with all the players that featured against the Pumas available again.

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While the Boks can boast a 101-0 win over the Italians, the Azzurri’s best results against SA were a 13-29 loss in Witbank in 2010 and a 21-40 defeat in Rome in 1995.

“The boys have recovered well from the loss to Argentina last Friday,” Azzurri manager Luigi Troiani said.

“Fortunately we have no major problems for the final challenge of our year-end campaign – against South Africa.

“We are looking to name the same squad that featured against Argentina for Saturday’s Test.”