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Italy hand debut to 142kg Bath forward as injuries force reshuffled side to face Springboks

Italy have named a heavily changed XV to face world champions South Africa in Turin on Saturday, with captain Michele Lamaro and several key backs ruled out. Uncapped 20-year-old Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi earns a bench spot, while Samuele Locatelli starts at openside on debut.

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Italy hand debut to 142kg Bath forward as injuries force reshuffled side to face Springboks
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Italy will face world champions South Africa in Turin on Saturday without a string of first-choice players, forcing head coach Gonzalo Quesada to field a significantly reshuffled side for the Nations Championship fixture.

Captain Michele Lamaro is among those unavailable, alongside Sebastian Negri, Marco Riccioni, Andrea Zambonin and Tommaso Menoncello. Giacomo Nicotera steps up to captain the side for only the second time, while Samuele Locatelli earns his Test debut at openside, joining Lorenzo Cannone and Alessandro Ortombina in the back row.

The midfield has also been redrawn in the absence of Juan Ignacio Brex and Menoncello, with Leonardo Marin and Paolo Odogwu filling the centre positions. Paolo Garbisi and Alessandro Fusco form the half-back pairing, Ange Capuozzo starts on the right wing, and Mirko Belloni takes the full-back jersey.

Left wing Monty Ioane will reach a personal milestone, winning his 50th Test cap in the fixture.

The most eye-catching selection comes on the bench, where Bath forward Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi is included. The 20-year-old, who weighs 142kg, has just one previous Test appearance to his name — against Chile last year — and now faces the considerably steeper challenge of the Springboks.

Of the entire matchday squad, only props Simone Ferrari and replacement Tommaso Allan were part of the Italy side that famously defeated South Africa in Florence in 2016. Saturday’s match will be the 20th meeting between the two nations and the second consecutive one staged in Turin.

Italy’s Nations Championship schedule continues with fixtures against Argentina in Genoa and Fiji in Udine before the squad travels to Twickenham for the Nations Championship Finals Weekend later this month.

Italy XV: Belloni; Capuozzo, Odogwu, Marin, Ioane; Garbisi, Fusco; Hasa, Nicotera (c), Ferrari, N. Cannone, Ruzza, Ortombina, Locatelli, L. Cannone.

Replacements: Di Bartolomeo, Fischetti, Neculai, Opoku-Gyamfi, Vintcent, Zuliani, Varney, Allan.

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