Rassie Erasmus unveils established Springboks side for Italy battle in Turin

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named a familiar-looking side to take on Italy at Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday, featuring several experienced players in the starting lineup.

The Springboks head to Turin following their recent defeat to the Wallabies in Perth, which ended a three-Test winning streak, after beating the All Blacks 3-1 in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.

Erasmus’ men currently sit top of the Southern Hemisphere table in the Nations Championship, with three wins from three Tests in July. The Springboks comfortably beat England 45-21, before claiming a 42-28 win over Scotland and a 43-point win over Wales.

Inspirational captain Siya Kolisi will lead the Springboks, alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the back row.

It’s an experienced front row, with Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, and Thomas Du Toit named to start, with Salmaan Moerat and Ruan Nortje in the second row.

Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will line up in the 9-10 combination, while Erasmus has gone with the formidable combination of Jesse Kriel and Damian De Allende in the midfield.

Ethan Hooker and Kurt-Lee Arendse get the nod on the wings, with Damian Willemse returning from a recent injury to start at fullback.

The Springboks head coach said they are not underestimating Italy, who have “quality forwards and backline players”.

“Italy are a quality team who will enter this match with immense motivation with an eye on trying to start their home leg on a positive note in front of their home crowd, and they have challenged us well before, so we have no doubt they will come out passionate and driven as ever,” said Erasmus.

“They have quality forwards and backline players, and although they are missing a few key players due to injury, they have a talented squad with players who will certainly want to make their mark with the 2027 Rugby World Cup less than a year away, so they will give everything on Saturday.

“The vital factors for us, however, will be to be accurate in our execution and to play for the full 80 minutes, especially given the high stakes at the end of these three pool matches.

“Make no mistake though, they will be raring to go, not only with the Nations Cup in mind, but also to take full advantage of these matches as all the participating teams in the competition are preparing for the Rugby World Cup next year.”

The 53-year-old head coach said they have gone for a “battle-hardened” group, to continue the momentum from the July Nations Championship window, and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

“We have three challenging matches ahead if we want to advance to the last game of the Finals Weekend, so our next three matches are going to be vital to lay a strong foundation for the tour.

“All our energy is focused on the match against Italy for now. Fortunately, some of the Japan-based players were able to travel to Italy earlier than the rest of the squad, so they have been working with some of the coaching staff for a few days already and are fully in the swing of things, while we had our first training session on Monday afternoon, so everyone is now on the same page.

“With the majority of the squad having played together for most of the season, we are confident that the players who participated in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and French Top 14 will ease into things seamlessly this week at training.

“The fact that they are battle-hardened after a few tough matches will offer us a good balance with fresh players raring to go and others who come off a few challenging matches for their franchises and clubs.”

Springbok team to face Italy in Turin:
15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 55 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 35 caps, 135 pts (27t)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 94 caps, 125 pts (25t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 103 caps, 65 pts (13t)
11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 14 caps, 10 pts (2t)
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 25 caps, 195 pts (9t, 50c, 15p)
9 Morne van den Berg (10bet Lions) – 11 caps, 37 pts (7t, 1c)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 50 caps, 20 pts (4t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 102 caps, 75 pts (15t)
6 Siya Kolisi (captain, DHL Stormers) – 107 caps, 75 pts (15t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Salmaan Moerat (Stade Rochelais) – 11 caps, 0 pts
3 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 37 caps, 10 pts (2t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 94 caps, 145 pts (29t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 53 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 15 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 36 caps, 10 pts (2t)
19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 78 caps, 25 pts (5t)
20 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 6 caps, 10 pts (2t)
21 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 5 cap, 5 pts (1t)
22 Grant Williams (Kobe Steelers) – 31 caps, 40 pts (8t)
23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 34 caps, 149 pts (2t, 50c, 13p)