Prop Martin Castrogiovanni hopes the Azzurri can make the most of the feel-good factor in Italian rugby when they meet England in the Six Nations tomorrow.

The popular Leicester Tigers tight-head prop will come face to face with four of his team-mates when the two countries do battle in Rome's Stadio Olimpico tomorrow.

Castro says a host of new players in the squad and thousands of new supporters in the stands will be evidence of the continuing spread of the game in a traditionally football-mad country.

"We are playing England in the Olympic Stadium and we had already sold 60,000 tickets a month before the game," said Castro.

"It will be a really important game for us and that is the sort of crowd that we have only ever got before against the All Blacks. We really want to do well for the people who will come out and support us.

"When they first said they were going to hold the game at the Olympic Stadium, we were uncertain whether the ground might be too big. But, having sold that amount of tickets so long before kick-off, it proves it was the right decision.

"Even if we don't get the result, thousands of people will see a new sport and that factor is motivation for us all."

On the pitch, with former head coach Nick Mallett moving on after the World Cup, new man Jacques Brunel has brought in several new faces to freshen up the squad.

With 83 caps under his belt already, it is an approach that experienced Castro supports wholeheartedly.

"Before the Six Nations starts, there is never too much time to put everything together," he said.

"We have a new coach and just a couple of weeks to get our game-plan sorted and put everything together. The new coach has already changed a lot of things and brought in a lot of new young players and that shows that he wants to think about the future when a lot of old people, like me, are not going to be there.

"He is thinking long-term so he can improve players for the future."

While understandably looking to the future in the year after a World Cup campaign, Castro insists lessons from the past must still be learned if the Azzurri are to make the move towards genuine Six Nations contenders.

"Italy will always have passion and commitment and you can never question our approach to the game," he said.

"It is something that we don't need to train for. It is our Latin side coming through.

"But, as a result, we can make too many mistakes.

"Take the Ireland game last year. We were ahead late on but lost a kick-off, they got the ball and beat us. You cannot win games at this level with just a strong defence and passion.

"Sometimes, you need to manage the game a little better."