Overview
- Italy, which host South Africa on Saturday in Turin, have set a revised matchday 23 that reflects multiple injuries and a deliberate plan to manage player minutes.
- Coach Gonzalo Quesada praised Rassie Erasmus and said Italy must adopt unpredictable tactics and new movements to unsettle a world‑champion side that offers few obvious weaknesses.
- Rassie Erasmus named his strongest available 23 for the European tour and the Springboks’ matchday group includes many World Cup winners and over 1,000 combined Test caps, a depth advantage highlighted by analysts.
- Quesada has adjusted his bench to mix rested and less‑used players such as Stephen Varney, Danilo Fischetti, Ross Vintcent and Tommaso Allan to protect heavy workload players and to test squad options.
- The Turin game begins a tough stretch of four consecutive top‑10 Tests for Italy and will be used both as a measuring stick for the Azzurri and as an opportunity to develop players one year out from the World Cup.