South Africa v Italy preview: Springboks unleash fresh faces against in-form Azzurri

Despite producing arguably the performance of the season last time out against France, head coach Rassie Erasmus has ripped up his team sheet and decided to use the Test against Italy to give some game time to the wider squad.

South Africa are looking to continue their top form in Europe, having won their past eight games on the continent.

The Boks are also looking to maintain their record against Italy, who they have only lost to once in 18 Tests, all the way back in 2016.

The Springboks have also scored more than 40 points against the Azzurri in the last four games between the two sides and prevented them from scoring at all last time out earlier this year at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Bok Captain Siya Kolisi has retained his place and is likely to play most, if not all, of the game after only going 40 minutes against France.

Boan Venter also retains his place in the front row and will be hoping he lasts longer than he did against France after being subbed off after just half an hour in Paris.

In the backline, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse are the only two who started against France; otherwise, it is all change for the Boks.

Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen join Venter in a completely remodelled front row, while Jean Kleyn - playing for South Africa for the first time since 2023 - joins Franco Mostert at lock.

Ben-Jason Dixon joins Kolisi on the opposite flank with more tactical innovation from Erasmus at eighth man in the form of Marco van Staden, who also serves as the Springboks' back-up hooker.

Morne van den Berg links up with Handre Pollard in a completely refreshed halfback pairing, with neither Cobus Reinach nor Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu even getting a place on the bench.

Ethan Hooker starts at centre for the first time at international level, alongside Canan Moodie, while Edwill van der Merwe joins Arendse and Willemse in the back three.

Italy will be going into the match full of confidence after having claimed a famous win over Australia last time out.

They will be determined to prove it was not a flash in the pan with another stronger performance against South Africa and Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has backed the team that was so impressive against the Wallabies by making only one change to his starting lineup - in stark contrast to the raft of changes made by the Boks.

The Azzurri's starting XV features a blend of established stars and rising talents that fired on all cylinders in last week's 26-19 victory over the Aussies, including fullback Ange Capuozzo, whose electric counter-attacking turned defense into attack; wing Monty Ioane, who crashed over for a crucial try with power and pace; flyhalf Paolo Garbisi, who dictating play with his pinpoint kicking; and flanker Manuel Zuliani, whose crucial turnovers disrupted the Wallabies at the breakdown.

The only change in their lineup sees Marco Riccioni replace Simone Ferrari in the front row, a tactical decision to allow Quesada to bring Ferrari on in the second half to combat the impact of the Springboks' legendary Bomb Squad.

Not only will the Azzurri need a strong start to compete against South Africa, they will also need to find a way to maintain their performance through the full 80 minutes, as the Boks have made a habit of taking games away from teams after half-time.

There is no doubt the Springboks are strong favourites to win, but they will need to avoid complacency against a determined and confident Italian outfit.

They also face potential issues with a lack of cohesion that may arise from making such sweeping changes to their starting XV, but this is unlikely to be too much of an issue given squad rotation has been part of Erasmus' strategy for some time now.

With competition as fierce as it is in the current Springbok squad, Saturday's match offers a perfect opportunity for fringe players to stake their claim and make a lasting impression as the season draws to a close.