No points from July. A treatment room full of first-choice players. A visiting side that sits first in its group. On paper, Italy have nothing going for them on Saturday. That is exactly when the Azzurri tend to make life awkward.
Gonzalo Quesada named his team on Thursday, and it starts this Italy v Springboks preview on its own: a first cap for openside Samuele Locatelli, Ange Capuozzo moved out to the wing, and a bench of six forwards and two backs. Yes, the Bomb Squad shape, borrowed for the afternoon. The Nations Championship Test at the Allianz Stadium kicks off at 13:40 SAST, and it is the first of three away matches that settle whether South Africa reach the Grand Final at Twickenham.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Match | Italy v South Africa, Nations Championship |
| When | Saturday 7 November 2026, 13:40 SAST (12:40 in Turin) |
| Where | Allianz Stadium, Turin |
| Referee | Eoghan Cross (Ireland) |
| Italy captain | Giacomo Nicotera, hooker, 41 caps |
| Last meeting | South Africa 32-14 Italy, Turin, 15 November 2025 |
Italy v Springboks preview: the Azzurri team in full
This is the side the Italian federation announced on Thursday, with caps as the federation lists them.
| No. | Italy | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Mirko Belloni | Zebre Parma | 3 |
| 14 | Ange Capuozzo | Stade Toulousain | 32 |
| 13 | Paolo Odogwu | Benetton Rugby | 10 |
| 12 | Leonardo Marin | Benetton Rugby | 25 |
| 11 | Monty Ioane | Lyon | 49 |
| 10 | Paolo Garbisi | Perpignan | 57 |
| 9 | Alessandro Fusco | Zebre Parma | 27 |
| 8 | Lorenzo Cannone | Benetton Rugby | 40 |
| 7 | Samuele Locatelli | Zebre Parma | debut |
| 6 | Alessandro Ortombina | Zebre Parma | 2 |
| 5 | Federico Ruzza | Benetton Rugby | 74 |
| 4 | Niccolò Cannone | Benetton Rugby | 65 |
| 3 | Simone Ferrari | Benetton Rugby | 73 |
| 2 | Giacomo Nicotera (captain) | Stade Français | 41 |
| 1 | Muhamed Hasa | Zebre Parma | 11 |
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo (Zebre Parma, 12 caps), 17 Danilo Fischetti (Northampton Saints, 66), 18 Ion Neculai (Northampton Saints, 4), 19 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi (Bath, 1), 20 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 22), 21 Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 43), 22 Stephen Varney (Exeter Chiefs, 39), 23 Tommaso Allan (Zebre Parma, 91).
Why Quesada went six and two
Read the bench before the starting side. Fischetti, a 66-cap prop, is a replacement because he has played six matches in a row, and Quesada did not want him starting four more straight. Varney, usually a starter at nine, is on the bench too: Fusco got the jersey because he arrived in the best condition, while Varney had been travelling to and from England.
Then there is the rule Quesada set himself for this week. Only players who can last the full 80 minutes start. Allan, back from a three-week injury, was not ready for a whole Test, and against South Africa, the coach explained, a six-two split was the only option. So the 91-cap playmaker sits on the bench, and he and Varney are the only backs among the replacements.
That same rule moved Capuozzo. Between commitments abroad and personal reasons he has trained little with the squad, so the Toulouse man goes to the right wing and Belloni, on three caps, wears 15.
Locatelli is the feel-good story. He has been around the Italy group for a year, and with Michele Lamaro injured he was the natural choice at seven. Quesada said the players’ happy reaction when the name went up told him he had picked right.
He was generous about the opposition, too. Quesada called Rassie Erasmus “the best coach in the world” (translated from Italian), and was blunt about the task: Italy, he said, have to play at their very highest level just to stay in the contest.
The missing Azzurri
Italy’s injury list is the reason this team looks the way it does. When the federation named its squad on 1 November, it listed 15 players as unavailable through injury, among them Lamaro, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Sebastian Negri, Louis Lynagh, Martin Page-Relo and Andrea Zambonin. Marco Riccioni was out for family reasons. TimesLIVE’s preview also names Brex, Menoncello and Negri among the absentees.
That is a midfield, a back row and a lock’s worth of Test experience missing. What is left still has steel up front. Ruzza, Ferrari and Niccolò Cannone have more than 200 caps between them, and Allan waits on the bench. The Italian news agency ANSA notes that Ferrari and Allan are the only two players left from the day Italy beat South Africa in Florence in 2016.
What the Boks bring to Turin
South Africa named their side on Monday, and our team news has the full 23 and what Erasmus said. The short version: Siya Kolisi leads, Salmaan Moerat is back at lock, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg form the halfback pair, and the bench is six-two as well. On the left wing, Ethan Hooker gets the chance with Cheslin Kolbe injured.
Van den Berg, the Lions scrumhalf, told reporters his body feels good and he feels sharp, which is what the Boks want to hear before the first Test of their November.
Assistant coach Jerry Flannery spent his week warning against reading the table. “They’re a well-coached team that does the basics extremely well,” he said of Italy. And on where the danger lies: “If your players don’t make their first-time tackles, Italy will make metres.” The plan, in his words, is to defend them as a team rather than man for man.
The numbers that frame Saturday
| Italy | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Nations Championship record | Played 3, lost 3 | Played 3, won 3 |
| Points in the table | 0 | 15 |
| Points scored and conceded | 37 for, 131 against | Points difference +81 |
| Head to head | 1 win (Florence, 2016) | 18 wins |
Italy go in 11th in the world rankings, and Saturday is the 20th meeting between the sides. Italy have won once. The last one was in this same stadium a year ago, and it is worth remembering how it went. The Boks lost Franco Mostert to a red card after 11 minutes and still won 32-14 with four tries to one. Quesada still points out that the score was 20-14 with ten minutes left. Fourteen men, a close game for 70 minutes, then a strong finish. That is the warning and the reassurance in one match.
What South Africa need from the Nations Championship
Here is the part that makes this more than a routine November Test. The Boks lead the southern group on 15 points, but New Zealand also have 15, so South Africa are first on the tie-breakers alone. Four points for a win is not the full job. A fourth try earns a bonus point, and with the All Blacks level, one bonus point could decide who finishes first in the South and plays for the title. How the Nations Championship works sets out the system step by step.
The road after Turin does not get easier. France at the Stade de France on Friday 13 November (22:10 SAST), then Ireland in Dublin on Saturday 21 November (18:40 SAST), then finals weekend at Twickenham from 27 to 29 November. Our weekend fixture guide has Saturday’s kick-off alongside the rest of the weekend’s SA sport.
Our view: five points, but not without a fight
This is ScoreLine’s view, not a fact. Italy will defend with pride, kick well through Garbisi and look for Capuozzo and Ioane on the edges. A debutant at seven against the Bok back row is a big ask, though, and the depth of the injury list will tell in the last quarter, when the South African bench comes on. Expect it to be tighter at half-time than the rankings suggest, and expect the Boks to need the full 80 to get the bonus point that matters.
Frequently asked questions
When is Italy v South Africa?
Italy play South Africa on Saturday 7 November 2026 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Kick-off is 13:40 SAST, which is 12:40 local time. It is a round four match in the Nations Championship.
Who is the referee for Italy v Springboks?
Eoghan Cross of Ireland referees the match. The Italian federation named him when it announced the team on Thursday.
Who is captaining Italy against South Africa?
Hooker Giacomo Nicotera of Stade Français captains Italy. He goes into the match with 41 caps.
How many times have Italy beaten the Springboks?
Once, in Florence in 2016. Saturday’s match is the 20th between the two countries, and South Africa have won the other 18. The last meeting, in Turin in November 2025, ended 32-14 to South Africa.
What does a win in Turin mean for the Springboks in the Nations Championship?
A win is worth four points, and scoring four tries adds a bonus point. South Africa and New Zealand are level on 15 points at the top of the southern group, so every point counts. The team that finishes first in the South plays the northern winners in the Grand Final at Twickenham.