Under his guidance the team dispatched Canada 25-16 in Toronto and the USA 30-10 in Houston yet Italy fell to Argentina in their first match against Argentina, going down 37-22 with Marco Bortolami as captain.

Castrogiovanni, 30, also backed head coach Jacques Brunel’s penchant for blooding youngsters as props Alberto de Marchi, Lorenzo Romano and hooker Davide Giazzon all made their Test debuts over the summer.

And after his two-match stint at Italy’s helm the Leicester Tigers tighthead insisted he was more than satisfied with his unbeaten record.

“I played my first two matches as a captain and I won both of them: now I’m happily handing it back to Parisse so I don’t blemish my unbeaten record in the role,” said Castrogiovanni.

“Parisse, Gonzalo (Canale) and many others started playing for the national team when we were really young when (John) Kirwan was the coach.

“It’s important to continue to trust in the youngsters and let them play at this (international) level because they can grow - they are the future of the national side.”