Italy vs South Africa Predictions & Tips - Italy to threaten another upset

South Africa have won 14 of their 15 matches against Italy. Italy’s only win against the Springboks came at home in 2016.

Last time they met South Africa thrashed Italy 49-3 at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

Italy will be full of confidence heading into this fixture on home soil. They are in great form and finally starting to show why they should be considered among the top nations.

Currently the Italians are on a three-match winning streak. They ended the Six Nations bottom of the table but did manage to beat Wales 22-21 away in their final match.

That was followed up with a 49-17 victory over Samoa to kick off their November internationals. Last week Italy caused a huge upset in beating Australia 28-27 on home soil.

Italy are expected to remain unchanged unless there are late injuries.

South Africa will have mixed feelings about their form at the moment. They finished second to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship but the title was there for the taking.

While performing to a good standard during their opening two tour matches, the Springboks have come up just short against Ireland and France. That is in no way disastrous considering the two aforementioned sides are the top ranked sides in world rugby.

But, both matches were there to win for South Africa. Poor goal kicking cost them against Ireland despite dominating much of the match. The same can be said against France where the Boks had to play a man down from 70 minutes. 

Damian de Allende shifts from inside to outside centre which sees Andre Esterhuizen start at 12. The rest of the backline remains the same.

Among the forwards Jasper Wiese comes back into the side at eight while Marvin Orie and Salmaan Moerat start as a lock pairing.