Full-strength Springbok team named to face Italy in Nations Championship

The Springboks have backed all their big names, who featured extensively in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, for their first end-of-year-tour match against Italy. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus continued to surprise after naming essentially a full-strength team for their first game of the second phase of the 2026 Nations Championship against Italy in Turin on Saturday. Other than injured regulars such as Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and a few others, the Boks have backed all their big names for the first of four matches on their end-of-year-tour, with France, Ireland and the Finals Weekend at Twickenham to follow. With most of the Bok players having had heavy workloads during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and having then featured for their various franchises over the past month, many expected Erasmus to give a few fringe players a run, but he instead has shown how seriously he is taking the challenge of Italy. The only player in the group who will make his first appearance in the green and gold jersey this season is lock Salmaan Moerat, who missed the first leg of the Nations Championship and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series due to neck and toe injuries. Moerat will partner up with the hard-working Ruan Nortje in the engine room in a physical forward pack, which features the front row of Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit, and Malcolm Marx, while captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese will pack down behind them in the loose trio. Settled backline The Bok backline is equally settled, with halfbacks Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu set to dictate play, alongside the experienced midfield pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel, while Ethan Hooker, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Damian Willemse will form an exciting back three. Erasmus opted for a split of six forwards and two backs on the replacements bench. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, and Wilco Louw will serve as the back-up front row, with Lood de Jager providing lock cover, and Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers completing the forward complement, while Grant Williams and Manie Libbok will provide backline support. “We have three challenging matches ahead if we want to advance to the last game of the Finals Weekend, so our next three matches are going to be vital to lay a strong foundation for the tour,” said Erasmus on Monday. “All our energy is focused on the match against Italy for now Fortunately, some of the Japan-based players were able to travel to Italy earlier than the rest of the squad, so they have been working with some of the coaching staff for a few days already and are fully in the swing of things, while we had our first training session on Monday afternoon, so everyone is now on the same page.” Springbok starting XV 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, Ruan Norje, Salmaan Moerat, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche Bench: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom, Paul de Villiers, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok