The Springboks kick off their November Nations Championship campaign against Italy in Turin on Saturday. South Africa are unbeaten after the opening three rounds and will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the Southern Hemisphere standings before tougher assignments against France and Ireland.
Italy vs South Africa, Saturday 7th November, Allianz Stadium, Turin, KO 13:40 (South African time)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: James Doleman (New Zealand), Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
Weather Forecast – Turin
Italy
Italy are bottom of the Northern Hemisphere standings, having lost all three of their Nations Championship matches in July.
They opened with a disappointing 27–10 defeat to Japan in Tokyo before going down 47–17 to New Zealand in Wellington. Their final match was a particularly difficult afternoon in Perth, where Australia ran out 57–10 winners.
Italy have conceded 131 points in their three matches and will be hoping that home advantage brings an improvement. They did, however, lose all three meetings with South Africa in 2025, including a 32–14 defeat in Turin last November.
Italy are 500/1 to win the Nations Championship.
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures:
R1 Japan (a) LOST 10–27
R2 New Zealand (a) LOST 17–47
R3 Australia (a) LOST 10–57
R4 South Africa (h) – 7 November
R5 Argentina (h) – To come
R6 Fiji (h) – To come
South Africa
The Springboks lead the Southern Hemisphere standings with a maximum 15 points from three matches, ahead of New Zealand on points difference.
They opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 45–21 victory over England at Ellis Park before beating Scotland 42–28 at Loftus. They finished the July window with a convincing 43–0 victory over Wales in Durban.
The Boks have scored 130 points and conceded just 49 in their three matches, giving them a points difference of +81.
They also have an excellent recent record against Italy, winning their last six meetings, including all three encounters in 2025.
This is the first of three Tests in Europe, with France in Paris and Ireland in Dublin to follow. The Springboks will be keen to collect another maximum haul before those two tougher fixtures.
South Africa are 1/1 favourites to win the Nations Championship.
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures:
R1 England (h) WON 45–21
R2 Scotland (h) WON 42–28
R3 Wales (h) WON 43–0
R4 Italy (a) – 7 November
R5 France (a) – 13 November
R6 Ireland (a) – 21 November
Recent Head to Head
Nov 2025 – International – Turin – Italy 14–32 SOUTH AFRICA
Jul 2025 – International – Gqeberha – SOUTH AFRICA 45–0 Italy
Jul 2025 – International – Pretoria – SOUTH AFRICA 42–24 Italy
Nov 2022 – International – Genoa – Italy 21–63 SOUTH AFRICA
Oct 2019 – Rugby World Cup – Shizuoka – SOUTH AFRICA 49–3 Italy
Team News
Italy: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera (captain), 1 Muhamed Hasa.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Tommaso Allan
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche,
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
The Betting
Betting as at 7 November 2026
Italy +28.5 points
South Africa -28.5 points
Betting Angle
Bet: Italy v South Africa
Posted 07 November 08h08
Bet: 0.5 units (1–5), Grant Williams last South African try scorer at 10/1 at PokerBet
South Africa have moved out to -28.5 on the handicap, and the line has been steady at that level for some time now. The total points line is 63.5, although I have seen 62.5 available elsewhere.
Truth be told, I'm really battling to get a firm view on this game, and I think the current handicap is about right.
I'm considering a play on Italy under 16.5 points, as I expect the Boks to be conscious of points difference in the race with New Zealand for top spot in the Southern Hemisphere standings. However, I'll decide whether to get further involved closer to kickoff.
For now, I've found a bet that should keep us interested right until the end of the game.
Grant Williams is coming off the bench, and at 10/1 to score South Africa's final try, I think he's worth a small play. There should be plenty of tired legs on the field by the time he gets involved, and with his electric pace and ability to exploit gaps around the fringes, I'm hoping he can find some space and get over the line late in the game.
Money for stacked Boks
Posted 3 Oct 09h35
South Africa have named a strong team and the handicap has moved from -20.5 to -25.5.
Follow our Nations Championship Week 4 blog for betting-related news and tips throughout the week.
See what other punters fancy and have your say in the Nations Championship Round 4 discussion thread.
Disclaimer: Betting odds and handicaps are correct at the time of writing but may change. Punters should check the latest prices, team news, weather conditions and relevant form before placing their bets.