The Springboks meet the Italian Azuri for the 2nd Test at Buffalo City Stadium, East London on Saturday at 15:00 SA Time.

Both teams have made plenty of changes and both teams do not field their strongest possible sides for this match.

The Springboks field 6 Stormers in the backline alone, the only exception being Morné Steyn form the Bulls. The backline is certainly chosen with running in mind, with Gio Aplon at fullback, paired with Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers on the wings and the familiar centre pairing combination of Juan de Jongh and Jaque Fourie in midfield.

Morné Steyn, the points machine, is once again paired with the struggling Ricky Januarie.

The front row of Gurthrö Steenkamp, John Smit and Jannie du Plessis has a familiar feel to it and should give the Azuri a difficult time for the 2nd week in a row.

Behind them is the lock combo of Bakkies Botha and Andries Bekker, which should provide both grunt and plenty of lineout possession.

The backrow consists of Schalk Burger, Francois Louw and Pierre Spies, which is likely to be the Tri-Nations Springbok back row.

An Azuri team with 9 changes poses a bit of an unknown quantity but my feeling is that Italy simply does not have the player depth to make 9 changes stick and be efective.

Ex South African, Carlo Antonio Del Fava and Marco Bortolami make up the lock pairing and one senses that they will simply not be in the class of Botha and Bekker.

At No 8, Sergio Parisse is always a thorn in the flesh and Pierre Spies will have to pull up his socks compared to last week to keep this man in check.

The Italian backline is even more unfamiliar than last week and we can only wait to see what they dish up for us this week.

This week the Springboks will really drill the Azuri into the ground…. Bokke by 40.

Recent results:
2010: South Africa won 29-13 in Witbank
2009: South Africa won 32-10 in Florence
2008: South Africa won 26-0 in Newlands, Cape Town
2001: South Africa won 54-26 in Genoa
2001: South Africa won 60-14 in Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Oliver.

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Michele Sepe, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Manoa Vosawai, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Franco Sbaraglini, 18 Quintin Geldenhuys, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Tito Tebaldi, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Matteo Pratichetti.

Date: Saturday, June 26
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Venue: Buffalo City Stadium, East London
Referee:  Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees: Keith Brown (New Zealand), Andy Macpherson (Scotland)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)