Erasmus names three uncapped players against Italy

Willie le Roux will become the eighth Springbok centurion on Saturday when South Africa meet Italy in the second Castle Lager Incoming Series Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, in a new-look team which will be led by Salmaan Moerat and includes three uncapped players on the bench.

The players in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ team in line to make their Test debuts are Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), who featured in their 54-7 victory against the Barbarians two weekends ago, Cobus Wiese (utility forward) – brother of No 8 Jasper Wiese – and Ethan Hooker (utility back), who have all been in fantastic form for their respective franchises this year.

With Siya Kolisi being managed as he recovers from a niggle, Moerat will lead the team, which feature seven players from the side that defeated Italy 42-24 in Pretoria last week. Moerat last captained the Boks in their 2024 Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against the Pumas in Argentina.

The seven players who will face the Azzurri for the second week in a row are Le Roux, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Jasper Wiese, all of whom have been named in the starting XV, while Ox Nche and Jan-Hendrik Wessels will make an impact off the replacements bench.

Erasmus named an exciting new backline with Edwill van der Merwe and Eastern Cape local Makazole Mapimpi linking up with Le Roux in the back three, while Andre Esterhuizen will partner up with Canan Moodie in the midfield, and Manie Libbok joins forces with Grant Williams at halfback.

Up front, Jasper Wiese and Van Staden form a loose trio combination with Pieter-Steph du Toit, while Ruan Nortje and Moerat will command the engine room, and Thomas du Toit will pack down with Louw and Marx in the front row.

Erasmus named five forwards and three backs on the bench, with Wessels joining fellow front-rowers, Nche and Ntlabakanye, along with the versatile Cobus Wiese and Evan Roos, while Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Hooker will provide backline cover.

Du Toit, Nortje, Williams, Mapimpi, and Roos will all make welcome returns from injuries which ruled them out of action at some stage since last season, while it will also mark a significant occasion for Van der Merwe, who scored a try in his first and only Test cap to date, against Wales in London in the opening game of the 2024 season.

Commenting on Le Roux earning his 100^th Test cap, Erasmus said: “Willie has been a stalwart for us in the last few years after making his debut against Italy in Durban in 2013, and he’s a fantastic playmaker, so we are thrilled to see him achieve this incredible feat.

“Only seven players in Springbok history have played 100 Tests before him, and to reach this milestone is testament to the player and team man that Willie is.

“Having come a long way with him during his career, I have no doubt that he’ll put the team before his own achievements this weekend, and as a team we would certainly like to make it a special and memorable occasion for him.”

Erasmus was excited to see this team in action: “We said from the outset that we would rotate the team as we have a large and very talented squad, and all but three of the players have played Test rugby before.

“Adding to that, 13 players in this squad have won a World Cup before, 11 of whom are in the starting lineup and two on the bench, and that shows the depth we have as we continue to build our squad for the next few seasons and ultimately the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“What makes this squad particularly exciting is that many of them have done the job for us before on the biggest stage, while Edwill has been knocking hard on the door since making his debut last season, and other players such as Asenathi, Cobus, and Ethan have made a fantastic impression on us both at their franchises and at training, and they certainly deserve this opportunity.”

Erasmus was also excited for the Wiese brothers, who will become the 37^th set of brothers to play for the Springboks. The last pair were Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse.

“It’s always fantastic to see siblings play together, and one can sense their excitement about this memorable occasion,” said Erasmus. “I have no doubt that will motivate them even more going into the game.”

Commenting about what he expected from Italy this week, Erasmus said: “We said from the get-go that they are a tough team and that they will test us, and we know that their performance last week will psyche them up going into this match.

“They will come hard at us and deliver another passionate performance, but we also have high standards as a team, and we know that we need to shift into a different gear this weekend to produce a performance we can be proud of.

“We had an honest and thorough review of last week’s game, and we know that we must improve in every department to get the desired result and do everything we can to make this game special for Willie, the debutantes, and the country.”

The match kicks off at 17h10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Springbok team to face Italy in Gqeberha:

15 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 99 caps, 75 pts (15t)

14 Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1t)

13 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) - 12 caps, 25 pts (5t)

12 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - 19 caps, 0 pts

11 Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - 46 caps, 160 points (32t)

10 Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) - 19 caps, 98 pts (1t, 30c, 11p)

9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - 17 caps, 20 pts (4t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) - 35 caps, 10 pts (2t)

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) - 86 caps, 60 pts (8t)

6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) - 26 caps, 20 pts (4t)

5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) - 6 caps, 0 pts

4 Salmaan Moerat (captain, DHL Stormers) - 10 caps, 0 pts

3 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) - 17 caps, 0 pts

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) - 77 caps, 110 pts (22t)

1 Thomas du Toit (Bath) - 23 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) - 4 caps, 5 pts (1t)

17 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - 40 caps, 0 pts

18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions) - uncapped

19 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped

20 Evan Roos (DHL Stormers) - 7 caps, 0 pts

21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) - 39 caps, 70 pts (14t)

22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) - 8 caps, 52 points (14c, 8p)

23 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Italy:

Played 17; Won 16; Lost 1; Points for: 806, Points against: 219; Tries scored 108, Tries conceded 19; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.

Miscellaneous:

• Willie le Roux will become only the eighth player in history to play 100 Tests for South Africa, following in the footsteps of Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtwawarira, John Smit, Jean de Villiers, and Percy Montgomery.
• Le Roux made his debut against Italy on 8 June 2013 and will celebrate his 100^th Test cap against the same opponents 12 years later.
• Makazole Mapimpi will play his 47^th Test match on Saturday, and requires only three more Test caps to join the elite group of players who have played 50 Tests.
• Manie Libbok requires only two more points to score 100 Test points in the green and gold. He is currently on 98 points.
• The Springboks have faced Italy 17 times and won 16 of those matches. Their only defeat was in Florence in 2016, where Italy pipped the Boks by 20-18.
• The Wiese brothers (Cobus and Jasper) will become the 37th set of brothers to play for the Springboks.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 493.
• There are 213 caps in the backline, with 280 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 98 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 30, the forwards 35, while the players on the bench average 12.