Troncon suffered a serious knee injury which disrupted his 2004 RBS 6 Nations and although he has recovered, his form has not.

He was left out of the Azzurris summer Tests but coach John Kirwan has realised the value of experience in what is a youthful squad.

Griffen said: Im very happy for Alessandro to be part of our team again.

He is one of Italys greatest players and Im sure will be good for our team in a very important tournament like the RBS 6 Nations.

The naturalised Kiwi knows that Troncon, who has been capped 85 times by Italy, is in the squad to put pressure on him.

Im not fearful about the competition for the scrum-half position with Alessandro.

Im certain whoever plays will do everything for the best of Italian rugby.

Griffen, who plays his club rugby for Calvisano, thinks that a change of approach coupled with the hard graft of last summer could pay off for Italy, starting against Ireland in Rome on February 6.

He said: I believe this year we are more ambitious than ever and the hard training of last summer and the November Test matches have given us the right direction.

Im sure in February we will be ready to fight against all the other teams and not fear anybody.

Certainly every game will be very hard for us but if we go on to the pitch with the right mentality we can win any game.

The first game at the Stadio Flaminio in front our fans could be a good chance to show how much we have grown.