Five uncapped players, two of them in the starting line-up, have been selected in the Springbok team to face Italy in the opening round of the quadrangular tournament in Durban on Saturday.
Willie le Roux (fullback) and Jano Vermaak (scrumhalf) will earn their Springbok debuts in the starting team, while the trio of uncapped players on the bench are Trevor Nyakane (prop), Arno Botha (loose forward) and Jan Serfontein (centre), who was part of the Under-20 team that won the Junior World Championships last year.
Stalwarts Bryan Habana (wing), Pierre Spies (No 8) and Tendai Mtawarira (prop), who missed the tour last November because of injury and health issues, are back in the starting team.
Ten players who played in the Springboks' last Test of 2012, a 16-15 win over England at Twickenham, have been included in the match-23 for Saturday.
The Springbok Test against Italy kicks off after the match between Scotland and Samoa.
15 Willie le Roux 14 Bryan Habana 13 JJ Engelbrecht 12Jean de Villiers (captain) 11 Bjorn Basson 10 Morné Steyn 9 Jano Vermaak 8 Pierre Spies 7 Willem Alberts 6 Francois Louw 5 Juandré Kruger 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Jannie du Plessis 2 Adriaan Strauss (vice-captain) 1Tendai Mtawarira 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle 17 Trevor Nyakane 18 Coenie Oosthuizen 19 Flip van der Merwe 20 Arno Botha 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Pat Lambie 23 Jan Serfontein
Meanwhile, lock Franco van der Merwe has been called up to the Springbok squad in the place of the injured Pieter-Steph du Toit.
