Facing the formidable Springboks, Italy's coach, Gonzalo Quesada, has largely stuck with the winning formula that saw them triumph over Australia. This decision sets the stage for a high-stakes match, but will it pay off?
Quesada, who is currently visiting the Stormers during their URC pre-season training in South Africa, has made only a single change to the team that secured a stunning victory against Australia last weekend. The Azzurri's performance against the Wallabies, with a final score of 26-19, highlighted the significant progress Italian rugby has made in recent years. But here's where it gets controversial: Can the same strategy work against the world champion Springboks?
In the front row, Marco Riccioni replaces Simone Ferrari, adding a fresh face to the starting lineup for Saturday's clash in Turin. The try-scoring duo of Louis Lynagh and Monty Ioane will once again take their positions on the wings, while Paolo Garbisi, who was instrumental in the victory over Australia, will reprise his role at flyhalf.
However, the Springboks pose a vastly different challenge. Fresh from an impressive 32-17 victory over France in Paris, they are a force to be reckoned with. Italy's previous encounters with Rassie Erasmus's team in July were tough, with the Italians conceding a total of 87 points across two games, including a devastating 45-0 shutout in one match.
Historically, Italy has only managed to beat South Africa once in their 18 meetings, a victory that occurred back in Florence in 2016.
Here's a look at the teams for Saturday's match:
Italy:
- 15 Ange Capuozzo; 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane; 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney; 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Ross Vintcent; 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
- Substitutes: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 David Odiase, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Tommaso Allan
Springboks:
- 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter
- Substitutes: 16 Gerhard Steenekamp, 17 Wilco Louw, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok
The big question is: Can Italy's strategic consistency upset the Springboks, or will South Africa's dominance continue? What do you think? Share your predictions in the comments below!
