Italy’s November Nations Championships could hardly have started with a more daunting assignment.

The Azzurri welcome back-to-back World Champions South Africa to Turin, but will do so missing 16 players, including captain Michele Lamaro and Toulouse’s Tommaso Menoncello.

Elsewhere, Toulon’s Juan Ignacio Brex, Bordeaux’s Martin Page-Relo, Perpignan’s Marco Riccioni, Exeter Chiefs’ Andrea Zambonin and Northampton’s Malik Faissal and Edoardo Todaro.

Italian-based players also include Benetton’s Alessandro Izekor, Riccardo Favretto, Louis Lynagh, Giulio Marini, Sebastian Negri, and Mirco Spagnolo, whilst Zebre Parma’s Giulio Bertaccini and David Odiase are also unavailable.

Little surprises await Gonzalo Quesada’s side, particularly after Italy endured a difficult run of summer fixtures.

They failed to register victories across three Tests against Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.

Italy struggling defensively

Their defensive struggles were particularly concerning, with the Azzurri conceding 131 points across those encounters.

27 against the Brave Blossoms, 47 against the All Blacks, and a further 57 against the Wallabies.

Their preparations are hardly helped by the substantial injury list ahead of the Springboks' arrival.

Springboks bigger favourites

For South Africa, meanwhile, the picture is considerably more encouraging, despite also missing key individuals.

They are currently unbeaten in the Nations Championship, are among the favourites to lift the inaugural title, and will be expected to extend their winning streak against a bruised Italian side.

According to the supercomputer, South Africa, before the news of Italy’s injury list, were firmly backed to come out on top, and that percentage would have only grown.

After their encounter with the Springboks, Italy host both Argentina and Fiji, before then heading to Allianz Stadium for a play-off match to conclude their 2026 campaign.

Full list of Italy players unavailable against South Africa

1. Michele Lamaro
2. Tommaso Menoncello
3. Juan Ignacio Brex
4. Martin Page-Relo
5. Marco Riccioni
6. Andrea Zambonni
7. Malik Faissal
8. Edoardo Todaro
9. Alessandro Izekor
10. Louis Lynagh
11. Giulio Marini
12. Sebastian Negri
13. Mirco Spagnolo
14. Giulio Bertaccini
15. Riccardo Favretto 
16. David Odiase