Nyakane in line for first Test start

Trevor Nyakane will make start his first Test for South Africa on Saturday after being named at loosehead by Springboks head coach Heyneke Meyer to face Italy.
The Cheeatahs prop is one of four changes to the team that beat England 31-28 at Twickenham last week with Coenie Oosthuizen moving up from the bench to replace the injured Jannie du Plessis at tighthead.
Teboho ‘Oupa’ Mohoje returns at openside while Johan Goosen has been selected at full-back.
On the bench, Nizaam Carr and Julian Redelinghuys are in line for their Test debuts.
“I’m excited to see what these guys can do on Saturday in what will be a stern Test against a fired-up Italy,” said Meyer.
“We planned to make a few shifts for this Test as I’d like to see if these players can make the step up. The guys coming in deserve their opportunities and seeing that we won’t have our overseas-based players available next week against Wales, it made sense to bring a few of them in this week.”
“Nizaam can cover all the positions in the back-row and his call-up is just-reward after a very good season for the Stormers and Western Province,” said the Springbok coach.
“Julian has been superb for the Lions this season and he’s shown that he can scrum. Both of them are now familiar with our plays and structures and I’m looking forward to see what they can bring on Saturday.
“It will also be a good test for Johan, who I’ve always regarded as a possibility at fullback. He has a great skill-set and a massive boot which will come in handy on Saturday if we have to play in wet weather again.”
“Italy are a passionate nation with a very experienced coach in Jacques Brunel and a world-class captain in Sergio Parisse,” said Meyer.
“The Italian pack is always formidable and their backs are not scared of taking chances. Our focus is to show improvements from our performance at Twickenham and we know it will be a big challenge on Saturday.”
Italy: Andrea Masi; Luke McLean, Michele Campagnaro, Luca Morisi, Leonardo Sarto; Kelly Haimona, Edoardo Gori; Matias Aguero, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Martin Castrogiovanni; Quintin Geldenhuys, Joshua Furno; Alessandro Zanni, Samuela Vunisa, Sergio Parisse (Capt.).
Replacements: Andrea Manici, Alberto De Marchi, Dario Chistolini, Marco Bortolami, Francesco Minto, Guglielmo Palazzani, Luciano Orquera, Giulio Toniolatti.
South Africa: Johan Goosen; JP Pietersen, Jan Serfontein, Jean de Villiers (Capt.), Bryan Habana; Pat Lambie, Cobus Reinach; Trevor Nyakane, Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen; Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield; Marcell Coetzee, Teboho Mohoje, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Julian Redelinghuys, Lood de Jager, Nizaam Carr, Francois Hougaard, Handré Pollard, Willie le Roux.