South Africa will be looking for an improved performance in the second rugby Test against Italy at Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday.

They will also be looking beyond the Italians as they seek confirmation of the form and fitness of key players in preparation for their Tri Nations title defence against fellow southern hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand and Australia.

Their first Tri-Nations match is against the All Blacks in Auckland on July 10.

Springboks coach Peter de Villiers said he was seeking a strong performance.

"It is important that we get back on track with a showing that will put us on the right note for the All Blacks," he said.

Captain John Smit returns to the side after missing the 29-13 first Test win in Witbank last Saturday because of a hamstring strain.

South Africa have made seven changes for the second Test and the side looks stronger than that which played in Witbank, although star lock and stand-in skipper Victor Matfield has been rested.

He has been replaced by tall, mobile Andries Bekker, who is back from injury.

Fellow lock Danie Rossouw, one of the outstanding players in South African rugby this year, has also been ruled out. He was due to be on the bench but withdrew because of a hip injury.

Former World Rugby Player of the Year Schalk Burger returns at flank after withdrawing from the first Test team because he had not fully recovered from an ankle injury.

Italy have lost all nine Tests against South Africa, but last Saturday was the closest they came to matching the world champions, finishing strongly after falling 29-3 behind soon after halftime.

Coach Nick Mallett praised a superb performance by his players against what he described as the best team in the world but he has surprisingly made even more changes than De Villiers, with nine new players coming into the starting line-up.

Six of the changes are among the forwards, although at least one was enforced following an injury to leading prop Martin Castrogiovanni, who had to leave the field just 18 minutes into the first Test.

Italy will again try to match the Springboks in the scrums, although they struggled in the first Test even before Castrogiovanni's injury.

The Springboks look set once again to dominate the line-outs, where Bekker's height and skill make up for the absence of Matfield, while the loose trio will be stronger for the return of Burger.

In the backline, centres Jaque Fourie and Juan de Jongh are likely to provide a better attacking springboard than the combination of Jean de Villiers and Butch James last week.

It will be only the third rugby Test to be played in East London although the small coastal town was the venue for Smit's Test debut against Canada 10 years ago.

Smit, who will be making his 96th Test appearance, also played in the other East London Test, against Uruguay five years ago.

South Africa

Gio Aplon; Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Bryan Habana; Morne Steyn, Ricky Januarie; Pierre Spies, Francois Louw, Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit (capt), Gurthro Steenkamp

Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle, BJ Botha, Flip van der Merwe, Dewald Potgieter, Ruan Pienaar, Butch James, Wynand Oliver

Italy

Luke McLean; Michele Sepe, Gonzalo Canale, Andrea Masi, Mirco Bergamasco; Craig Gower, Simon Picone; Sergio Parisse (capt), Paul Derbyshire, Manoa Vosawai, Marco Bortolami, Carlo Antonio Del Fava, Lorenzo Cittadini, Fabio Ongaro, Salvatore Perugini

Replacements: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Franco Sbaraglini, Quintin Geldenhuys, Alessandro Zanni, Tito Tebaldi, Riccardo Bocchino, Matteo Pratichetti

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