SA have made 11 changes to their starting team and selected André Esterhuizen as a replacement loose forward for the Autumn International series clash with Italy in Turin on Saturday.
Only captain Siya Kolisi, prop Boan Venter, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and fullback Damian Willemse will start from the team that defeated France 32-17 in Paris last weekend as coach Rassie Erasmus and his staff offer opportunities to other players.
Handré Pollard will play his first game on tour from flyhalf, with Morné van den Berg in the No 9 jersey and a centre pairing of Ethan Hooker and Canan Moodie.
Wing Edwill van der Merwe completes the back three, alongside Arendse and Willemse.
Hooker Johan Grobbelaar will have props Venter and Zachary Porthen either side of him. Jean Kleyn and Franco Mostert are the starting locks.
Kolisi is at the back of the scrum with Ben-Jason Dixon and No 8 Marco van Staden.
Erasmus has selected what looks like a 6-2 split between forwards and backs on the bench, though hybrid player Esterhuizen can come on as a flanker or centre.
With no specialist hooker backup, Van Staden will fill that void in yet another experiment from Erasmus.
“Marco played hooker for us at the [2023] World Cup, and he has been training in the position since, so it doesn’t make a difference whether he starts at loose forward and moves to hooker,” Erasmus said.
“We said from the outset of the tour that we want to give as many players as possible a chance to play, and we believe this team is best suited to the threats Italy will pose.
“One of our key pillars is to build squad depth, and it’s great to have players like Jean, Handré, Edwill, and Ben-Jason back.
“Handré and Jean have played in Rugby World Cups, while Ben-Jason and Edwill have both performed for us at the highest level, and we are excited to see what they’ll bring this weekend.“
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada unsurprisingly named a largely unchanged side for Saturday’s Test after last weekend’s win over Australia, though prop Marco Riccioni replaces Simone Ferrari.
Ferrari drops to the bench as Quesada sticks with a winning team following the 26-19 comeback victory against Australia last Saturday in Udine, as Italy search for what would be only their second win over the Springboks.
Louis Lynagh, who scored two tries against Australia, and Monty Ioane, who downed the other, remain on the wings. Paolo Garbisi’s 100% kicking record in last weekend’s win sees the flyhalf retain his place.
Italy’s only previous victory in 18 meetings with SA came in 2016, and Ferrari is one of two players in the current squad who featured in that triumph in Florence, along with flyhalf Tommy Allan.
Captain Michele Lamaro and flanker Sebastian Negri, who missed the Australia win, are still injured, so centre Juan Ignacio Brex will wear the captain’s armband again. South African-born flanker Ross Vintcent is also in the side.
Italy squad: 15-Ange Capuozzo, 14-Louis Lynagh, 13-Juan Ignacio Brex, 12-Tommaso Menoncello, 11-Monty Ioane, 10-Paolo Garbisi, 9-Stephen Varney, 8-Lorenzo Cannone, 7-Manuel Zuliani, 6-Ross Vintcent, 5-Andrea Zambonin, 4-Niccolo Cannone, 3-Marco Riccioni, 2-Giacomo Nicotera, 1-Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16-Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17-Mirco Spagnolo, 18-Simone Ferrari, 19-Federico Ruzza, 20-Riccardo Favretto, 21-David Odiase, 22-Martin Page-Relo, 23-Tommaso Allan
SA squad: 15-Damian Willemse, 14-Edwill van der Merwe, 13-Canan Moodie, 12-Ethan Hooker, 11-Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10-Handre Pollard, 9-Morne van den Berg, 8-Marco van Staden, 7-Ben-Jason Dixon, 6-Siya Kolisi (c), 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Jean Kleyn, 3-Zachary Porthen, 2-Johan Grobbelaar, 1-Boan Venter
Replacements: 16-Gerhard Steenekamp, 17-Wilco Louw, 18-RG Snyman, 19-Ruan Nortje, 20-Andre Esterhuizen, 21-Kwagga Smith, 22-Grant Williams, 23-Manie Libbok.
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