Ticket sales for Newlands are slow and few. There could just be the smallest Test crowd at the great ground since 1910 when South Africa host Italy on Saturday. The weather has something to do with it, the composition of the two teams a lot to do with it.

It is raining at the Cape, pouring with rain. The weather forecast for Saturday is slightly more promising, but Newlands is the wettest part of South Africa. If there is going to be rain at the Cape on Saturday it will be at Newlands. The field with its artificial base and excellent drainage will be fine, but the prospect of paying R200 to sit in the rain and watch half-baked teams playing may well deter normally supportive people.

Half-baked teams? That is the perception.

The Springboks decided to send their best flyhalf home to Durban for rest and recreation. Their most experienced players have gone off to France to play — or sit on the bench — in France's semifinals.

But it is the team called Italy that has the strangest look — five born in Argentina, two in New Zealand, two in South Africa, one in Australia and one in Canada.

The fullback does not make his club's starting XV and the 20-year-old flyhalf is not only inexperienced by age but also in the flyhalf berth, as he usually plays his club rugby at fullback. There are four new caps in the side and several recognisable players not here because their French clubs need their services — most obviously Sergio Parisse, Gonzalo Canale and the Bergamasco brothers while Martín Castrogiovanni and other props are not available.

Rain is a leveller, it is said, and the Italians probably do not resent the wetness of the Cape as they hope it will give them a better chance of avoiding humiliation. But still their biggest weapon could well be in the Springbok camp — overconfidence, ever the besetting sin of South African rugby. There was a hint of it last week against Wales and more reason for it against this team called Italy.

The Italians may well hold their own in the tight five even with Michele Rizzo at loosehead. But when the ball gets away from the tight five they could be in dire straits as the Springboks seem to have greater speed, strength and savoir faire than the Italians. But if the rain limits Springbok dash, the Italians may well hold their own for a while.

Players to watch:

For South Africa: There is a lot to watch on the Springbok side — Conrad Jantjes who is having a splendid season and may well have a happy day if the Italians decide to float the ball his way, Bryan Habana who must surely at some stage get some space, François Steyn at his preferred position of flyhalf, combative Ricky Januarie and noble Ryan Kankowski. The carrying ability of Kankowski, Juan Smith, Victor Matfield and Beast Mtawarira could punish Italy. Newlands may learn to love The Beast.

For Italy: On the Italian side hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini is a star in the making and, of course, one will be interested to see how Luke McLean manages and is managed.

Head to Head: The contest between the two sets of locks could be interesting and telling - Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha of South Africa against Carlo Del Fava and Santiago Dellapè of Italy. There could be a no-contest at inside centre — big, impressive Jean de Villiers of South Africa against uncapped, Argentinian born Gonzalo Garcia of Italy. If Garcia fails, Italy could spend a lot of time behind their goal-line.

Previous results:

2001: South Africa won 54-26, Genoa
2001: South Africa won 60-14, Port Elizabeth
1999: South Africa won 101-0, Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1999: South Africa won 74-3, Boet Erasmus, Pt Elizabeth
1997: South Africa won 62-31, Bologna
1995: South Africa won 40-21, Olympic Stadium, Rome

Prediction: Nick Mallett, Italy's coach, once coached the Springboks against Italy when they scored more than a century of points against Italy in Durban. He would not like to be on the receiving end at Newlands. "That did no good for Italy and no good for South Africa," he says, no longer finding the result of that match palatable. He would like his men to keep their heads up and battle to the finish — as he would have done himself in his playing days, the most competitive of men. But it seems unlikely that they will be able to keep the Springboks at bay or where or how they would score points themselves. One would expect the Springboks to win by 40 points or more.

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 François Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Joe van Niekerk, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Ruan Pienaar.

Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Jaco Erasmus, 19 Tommaso Reato, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan.

Date: Saturday, 21 June
Kick-off: 3pm (1pm GMT)
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Weather conditions: 20 percent chance of rain with a high of 20°C, dropping to 12°C and a light northwester
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

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