Rugby Test Match: South Africa looking to kick off 2025 season with a bang against Italy
Springboks carrying momentum after Barbarians bashing
South Africa will begin their 2025 season with a tricky Test against Italy this weekend, though they are the clear favourites in the match according to the best rugby betting sites after smashing the Barbarians in Cape Town 54-7 last weekend.
The Springboks will be looking to pick up from where they left off last year when they won their last four matches against teams from the Northern Hemisphere, beating Wales 45-12, England 29-20, Scotland 32-15 and Portugal 65-21.
So far, all indicators suggest that the world champions should be able to deal with whatever the experienced Gli Azzurri throws at them, given their performance against the Baa-Baas last week and their record against their upcoming opponents. You can also check out our South Africa vs Italy prediction for our expert insights.
Rassie Erasmus’s side has won 15 of their 16 matches against Italy over the years!
The only exception was a sole defeat back in 2016 while Allister Coetzee was still at the helm. The Boks have never lost to Italy on home soil, and their last three encounters ended in lopsided wins, with South Africa coming out on top 63-21 (2022), 46-3 (2019) and 35-6 (2017).
The hosts also enter this match as the number one-ranked team in the world with 92.78 rating points, but their 2.42-point advantage over New Zealand will not be enough to remain in pole position if they lose this match and the All Blacks beat France in Dunedin on Saturday morning.
Italy hoping to maintain upward trajectory in 2025
Last year, we saw plenty of movement in the rugby world rankings. Indeed, over the last 12 months, Italy has slipped to 10th place in the standings, but most would likely agree that the work Gonzalo Quesada has put into this side has been extremely impressive.
While Gli Azzurri finished fifth in the Six Nations, they produced a couple of incredible performances, including stunning France in Rome and pushing England to the wire at Twickenham, where they were denied what would have been a famous victory by just three points.
Quesada has clearly instilled a sense of belief in his group of players and has blended exciting youth with sturdy experience that many feel could give Italy their best chance of repeating that famous victory over the Boks in Florence in 2016.
In 2024, Gli Azzurri racked up three wins against tier-one nations - the joint-best tally in their history. They previously beat three tier-one nations in 1997, though two of those matches were against Ireland, while last year, they bested three separate sides.
This year, Italy has already notched up one victory over a tier one team in Wales, which ultimately condemned the Dragons to the Wooden Spoon at the Six Nations. They smashed Namibia 73-6 last weekend, which will also add to their confidence heading to Loftus.
South African captain Siya Kolisi ruled out for Italy Test
Rassie Erasmus has included 13 players who featured in South Africa’s squad for the victory over the Barbarians. Skipper Siya Kolisi, who missed out last week due to a niggling injury remains sidelined, meaning Jesse Kriel will retain captaincy for this match.
However, the Boks did receive a few major boosts in the lead-up to this weekend’s clash, starting with powerhouse Eben Etzebeth set to return to the lineup, having now overcome a back injury that forced him to miss the trip to Cape Town last weekend.
Other players that are back in action for the Boks this week include Faf de Klerk, who last featured for the team against Ireland in mid-2024, while Damian Willemse and the ultra-reliable Handre Pollard are also brought into the starting 15 at full-back and fly-half respectively.
Erasmus’s bench features a 6-2 split, with the infamous ‘Bomb Squad’ led by Bongi Mbonambi, who is joined by props Jan-Hendrick Wessels and Vincent Koch, lock RG Snyman, and utility forwards Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith.
South Africa vs Italy lineups:
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux
Italy: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimcheff, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 David Odiase, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Giulio Bertaccini
Key information:
Date and Time: Saturday, July 5 at 15:10 GMT
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Hollie Davidson
How to watch: Supersport and SABC. You can also follow along live using our rugby livescore tool.
