Stoica is mourning the death of a friend in a car accident and, with the funeral scheduled for Tuesday, the Italian coaching staff have not yet decided if the Romania-born player will make the trip to London.

The other 24 players called up were all present at the training camp in the Tuscany town of Tirrenia near Pisa.

Mirco Bergamasco and skipper Marco Bortolami linked up with the squad after flying in from London where they were involved in Saturdays tsunami aid match between the northern and southern hemispheres.

After lunch the players watched a video of the defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield before their first training session under the gaze of John Kirwan and his coaching team.