When the Autumn Nations Series schedule was confirmed ages ago, Italy versus the Springboks wasn\u2019t a fixture that jumped off the page. <\/p>\n
But it now deserves attention before rugby fans gorge themselves later on Saturday with blockbusters in the guise of England-New Zealand and Ireland-Australia.<\/p>\n
Despite the Italians defusing the bomb squad<\/a> and fighting off an expected second-half hammering last July in Pretoria after trailing 3-28 to only lose 24-42, they were nilled 0-45 the following week in Gqeberha. <\/p>\n The straw they clutched was that they had sent an understrength squad to South Africa<\/a>, but that excuse didn\u2019t get the pulse racing for this November renewal. <\/p>\n So what\u2019s changed? Italy\u2019s ambush of the Wallabies last weekend<\/a> was a dream boost for the FIR marketing team as they look to sell a fixture that is taking place in the football heartland of Turin. Then came the naming of the latest Springboks side.<\/p>\n Just four players were retained from the epic win over France in Paris last weekend and while no XV containing the legendary delights that are Handre Pollard<\/a> and Siya Kolisi, some of the experimental nature of the team chosen by Rassie Erasmus has certainly whetted the appetite. <\/p>\n It is a gigantic leap to suggest that a shock similar to what unfolded in Florence nine years ago could potentially unfold, but what can confidently be said is that the Italians will fancy their chances of causing a few headaches and sternly examining some of Erasmus\u2019 latest selection gambits. \u00a0<\/p>\n Springboks team: Five takeaways including Rassie Erasmus\u2019 \u2018smart ploy\u2019 while next-gen pairing challenged by Italy\u2019s telepathic combo<\/a><\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus explains Springboks \u2018thinking with front-row\u2019 gamble and reveals \u2018tough thing\u2019 for recalled Handre Pollard<\/a><\/p>\n Where the game will be won<\/p>\n It was in the collision zone where Italy proved a handful for the South Africans four months ago, a situation that wasn\u2019t lost on head coach Erasmus who on Thursday mentioned how Gonzalo Quesada\u2019s side \u201chad 66 bites at the breakdown\u201d.<\/p>\n That\u2019s an impressive stat given how polished and precise the Springbok activity usually is in this area, and whether the Italians can get busy here again will have a huge bearing on how the match pans out.<\/p>\n There was an iron will about last weekend\u2019s South African performance in Paris, an admirable defiance in the way they refused to buckle despite being a man down to a red card. Players looked after each other in difficult circumstances at the Stade de France and that cohesion was heartily rewarded on the scoreboard that eventually read 32-17.<\/p>\n Other obvious motivations drove them on, such as the match being the first time the Springboks had played the French since the hotly debated 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. It was also the 100th appearance for Kolisi, the man of the South African people.<\/p>\n Those types of match build-up inspirations don\u2019t exist this weekend and the key to how comfortably South Africa can win this game in Turin will be how their reshuffled pack gels. For instance, their inexperienced front-row \u2013 Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen \u2013 have just 12 caps between them, so expect them to be seriously tested.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a situation that could be exacerbated later in the game as the starting number eight Marco van Staden is providing the cover at hooker in another of these hybrid gambles that Erasmus is growing so fond of in his mission to build his squad for Rugby World Cup 2027.<\/p>\n We will have a match to savour if Italy can make a fist of things in the forwards as they have plenty of threats in their backs, but on paper it seems as if the Springboks have a trump card in the selection of Pollard at fly-half. He is the perfect class act to have on board if the score becomes uncomfortably tight.<\/p>\n Matt Williams: Springboks are playing the \u2018best rugby I\u2019ve ever seen\u2019\u2026 Ireland are in a lot of trouble<\/a><\/p>\n Last time they met<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n What they said<\/p>\n Head coach Erasmus was candid in admitting this Springbok selection was heavily influenced by what is awaiting over the horizon \u2013 next weekend\u2019s match versus Ireland in Dublin. Here is part of his thinking behind his rookie front-row combination.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely, we are saving Thomas (du Toit) a little bit for the Irish match as we won\u2019t have him after that when we play Wales, as that is outside the window.\u201d<\/p>\n What is clearly driving the mischievous Erasmus on is his goal of stress testing every part of his design to win the three-peat in Australia in two years\u2019 time. It\u2019s why he wasn\u2019t in the slightest bit interested in sending for cover once the Lood de Jager suspension was confirmed following his Stade de France red card.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel we have enough locks to cover us. Like a World Cup squad size is 33 and it\u2019s even more games. This is a five-week tour. It\u2019s not nice but we have to make plans.\u201d Too right.<\/p>\n Italian boss Quesada left South Africa in July accusing the hosts of disrespect with some of the unusual tactics they employed, such as purposely messing up the kick-off in order to have an immediate scrum. But he has been polite this week leading into the rematch.<\/p>\n \u201cSouth Africa is a fantastic team with great individual players. We know how they work: the week before the France match, they already announced the 23-man squad that would play against Italy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey trained together all last week, perhaps opposing their teammates chosen to play against France. So they worked together to make the most of the two weeks to be ready for our match, honing their automatic reflexes. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t see many weaknesses in their squad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have to try to put them under pressure to see if all these players, who haven\u2019t played together much and are unfamiliar with each other, can stay fluid and reach their potential.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have many players capable of making a difference individually, but it\u2019s up to us to put them under pressure because this is a group that has never played together, they have never shared a match, they might not have many automatic reactions. Rugby, after all, is a game of connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Springboks: Tony Brown hails the impact of world champions\u2019 \u2018one-man wrecking machine\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Players to watch<\/p>\n Attention from a South African perspective will immediately fall on how their new-look front-row fares in what should be a stern examination from Marco Riccioni, Giacomo Nicotera and Danilo Fischetti. But that won\u2019t be the only area grabbing the imagination.<\/p>\n For example, it\u2019s been quite a while \u2013 the early September Rugby Championship loss to the All Blacks in Auckland \u2013 since Pollard was on the pitch and how he glues with Morne van den Berg, an inexperienced Test number nine, will add another important layer to the Erasmus report card.<\/p>\n So too the duo running out in the midfield for the first time together. Canan Moodie is something of a lucky charm, judging by what the head coach said about him on Thursday.<\/p>\n The decision to pair him with Ethan Hooker, a rookie talent who has so far earned his stripes on the wing, tees up a delicious challenge against Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello.<\/p>\n The Italian centres are beautiful to watch, and they will be dangerous on the front foot. Italy\u2019s back three also have the potential to be an enormous handful in attack, but there is no guarantee they will be heavily involved given so much depends on the ball-winning success of their pack.<\/p>\n Brian O\u2019Driscoll dismisses Springboks comparisons as he addresses loss of \u2018generational players\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Prediction<\/p>\n As much as you can be excited by Italy surprising the Wallabies, it\u2019s not enough to suggest lightning can strike for a second successive weekend.<\/p>\n Yes, the Springboks were humbled by the Aussies at home in Johannesburg last August, but the rotational growth in their squad since that setback has been enormous and they have more than enough talent involved in Turin to register a 15 points or more win.<\/p>\n