Tussle in Turin: Erasmus picks strong side for Italy opener

Rassie Erasmus has named what looks close to his strongest available team for Saturday’s opening match of the Springboks’ away Nations Championship leg against Italy in Turin.

There had been speculation that the Boks might field an under-strength side and give newcomers a run against the less demanding of their first opponents on tour, Gavin Rich writes for SuperSport.

That would have meant introducing new players after only a few days of training. Instead, every combination in the side has played together for South Africa before.

The one departure from the norm is in the second row, where Salmaan Moerat partners Ruan Nortje because Eben Etzebeth is missing a tour that also takes in Paris and Dublin before finals day in London at the end of the month. RG Snyman is also injured.

Moerat, who left the Stormers in the off-season and now plays for La Rochelle, has not played for the Boks this year. He was injured during the southern hemisphere season and missed much of his last URC campaign. He and Nortje have been paired before, having played together at national schools and age-group level, and again when Moerat captained the Boks against Italy in Gqeberha in July last year. He dropped out of the reckoning for a time last year and played no part in the Boks’ 2025 Rugby Championship triumph, so he has something to prove.

Rich counted the omission of Cobus Wiese, who impressed at lock in the home leg of the Nations Championship, among the more puzzling selection calls. Wiese was also left out of the trips to Baltimore for the final Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry test and to Australia.

The side is far more experienced than the one that lost 42–38 to the Wallabies in Perth in late September. There are 14 changes from that team, with left wing Ethan Hooker the only survivor. Five starters in Turin came off the bench in Perth: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Jasper Wiese, Ox Nche and Malcolm Marx. Wilco Louw was a replacement in Perth and is again on the bench. Compared with the Baltimore test, there are just two changes: Louw, who started there, drops to the bench, and Moerat replaces Etzebeth.

The bench has six forwards and two backs. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Louw, Lood de Jager, Paul de Villiers and Cameron Hanekom are joined by Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.

Rich said the selection signals that Erasmus intends to go all out to reach the final, which pits the leader of the southern hemisphere log against the leader of the northern log. The Boks and New Zealand are level at the top of the southern group, with South Africa nominally ahead on points difference. Bonus points and points difference are likely to be crucial.

Erasmus said the three matches ahead were challenging and that the next three would lay a foundation for the tour. He said the squad’s focus was entirely on Italy. Some Japan-based players travelled early and have already worked with part of the coaching staff, while the first full training session in Italy took place on Monday afternoon.

He said the continuity from the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series gave him confidence that players arriving later from the URC and French Top 14 would settle in quickly. He added that their recent tough matches would balance fresh players eager to get going.

Erasmus said he wants to give all six uncapped newcomers a chance on tour. They will be exposed to the team’s structures this week and monitored, with opportunities hoped for against top opposition in the coming weeks. He described them as special players who will bring something different.

Springbok team: Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche.

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom, Paul de Villiers, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok.

The Boks have won 17 of their 18 previous tests against Italy, losing only in Florence in 2016 by 20–18. This will be their second meeting in Turin, after a 32–14 win there last year. The starting line-up has 835 caps between them, averaging 51 per back and 60 per forward, with a further 208 on the bench. Kriel and Marx, the 2025 World Rugby and SA Rugby men’s player of the year, will each be five tests short of 100 caps once the match is done.

Sources: SuperSport.