No new caps. No gambles. Rassie Erasmus has gone to Turin with the men he trusts most, and he has brought one familiar face back into the second row.
The Springbok team v Italy, named on Monday evening, has Salmaan Moerat at lock for his first Test of the season, Siya Kolisi as captain on the blindside, and a bench of six forwards and two backs. Saturday’s Nations Championship match at the Allianz Stadium kicks off at 13:40 SAST, and it opens a three-week stretch that decides whether South Africa reach the Grand Final at Twickenham.
The Springbok team v Italy in full
| No. | Starting XV | No. | Replacements |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Damian Willemse | 16 | Jan-Hendrik Wessels |
| 14 | Kurt-Lee Arendse | 17 | Gerhard Steenekamp |
| 13 | Jesse Kriel | 18 | Wilco Louw |
| 12 | Damian de Allende | 19 | Lood de Jager |
| 11 | Ethan Hooker | 20 | Cameron Hanekom |
| 10 | Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu | 21 | Paul de Villiers |
| 9 | Morne van den Berg | 22 | Grant Williams |
| 8 | Jasper Wiese | 23 | Manie Libbok |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | ||
| 6 | Siya Kolisi (captain) | ||
| 5 | Ruan Nortje | ||
| 4 | Salmaan Moerat | ||
| 3 | Thomas du Toit | ||
| 2 | Malcolm Marx | ||
| 1 | Ox Nche |
Kick-off: Saturday 7 November, 13:40 SAST, Allianz Stadium, Turin.
Moerat steps into a big gap
The headline name is the lock. Eben Etzebeth was one of four senior players SA Rugby ruled out injured when it named the November squad last week, and the job next to Ruan Nortje goes to Moerat, the Stade Rochelais lock. Big jersey. Big week.
Behind him, the pack is pure experience. The Sharks pair of Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit pack down either side of Malcolm Marx, with Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the back row. RugbyPass’s count has Kolisi on 107 caps going in, Pieter-Steph du Toit on 102 and Damian de Allende on 103. Marx and Jesse Kriel are both on 94.
The backs: Sacha at ten, Hooker on the wing
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at flyhalf, with Manie Libbok on the bench as the second playmaker. The Stormers man is joined by clubmate Damian Willemse at fullback, while Morne van den Berg of the Lions wears nine.
With Cheslin Kolbe also among the injured, Ethan Hooker of the Sharks starts on the left wing, with Kurt-Lee Arendse on the right. De Allende and Kriel stay together in midfield.
Why the bench is six and two
The Bomb Squad is back to its classic shape. Wessels, Steenekamp, Louw, de Jager, Hanekom and de Villiers cover the whole pack, with Grant Williams and Libbok the only backs. Planet Rugby’s reading is that André Esterhuizen’s absence takes away his hybrid option, so the split goes back to six and two.
What the team does not have is a new cap. All six uncapped players called up for November, from Yaqeen Ahmed to Emmanuel Tshituka, miss out on the 23. Our squad analysis explains where each of them fits. Erasmus’s message for this week was simpler: “All our energy is focused on the match against Italy for now.”
What Erasmus wants from Turin
Italy arrive bottom of the northern group without a point, but Erasmus is not buying the table. “Italy are a quality team who will enter this match with immense motivation,” he said, adding that the keys would be “to be accurate in our execution and to play for the full 80 minutes”.
He also named the bigger picture. “We have three challenging matches ahead if we want to advance to the last game of the Finals Weekend,” he said. South Africa top the southern group on 15 points, level with New Zealand and ahead on points difference, which is why every bonus point counts. How the Nations Championship works sets out what each result is worth.
There is a little unfinished business too. The last time the Boks played, in Perth on 27 September, Australia won 42-38. A settled side, a quick start and five points in Turin would put that firmly behind them.
What happens next
Six days after Turin, the Boks meet France at the Stade de France, a Friday night kick-off at 22:10 SAST on 13 November. Dublin and Ireland follow eight days later, at 18:40 SAST on 21 November. Then it is London, and finals weekend at Twickenham from 27 to 29 November.