With this in mind, head coach Nick Mallett has been free to experiment, making 10 changes to the side that performed well in the 29-13 defeat to the Springboks in the first test in Witbank last week.
"It's an honour to play against South Africa, which is why I want as many of my squad to experience playing against them on this tour," said Mallett, who coached the Springboks to a world-record equalling 17 successive Test wins from 1997-98.
"They'll become better players if given the chance to play against the best team in the world."
Mallett's selection with an eye on the future is mirrored by Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, who will announce his squad for the annual Tri-Nations tournament after the match. South Africa's first match, against New Zealand in Auckland, takes place on July 10.
De Villiers and his selectors have made five changes and two positional switches to the side that beat Italy last week, with the return of hooker and captain John Smit from injury the most significant.
Smit, who will earn his 96th cap, is joined by fit-again flanker Schalk Burger and lock Andries Bekker in the run-on forward pack. Centre Juan de Jongh and winger Jean de Villiers start among the backs, with the latter moving to wing and Gio Aplon playing fullback.
"It's important for us to refocus for Saturday's Test," said Smit. "It's quite strange to be watching your team on the television one week and then being back in the thick of things the next."
The world champions' preparations were hampered last week by the late withdrawals of Smit and Burger. This week, replacement lock Danie Rossouw pulled out with a hip injury and is replaced by Flip van der Merwe.
Teams:
South Africa: 15-Gio Aplon (Western Province), 14-Jean de Villiers (Western Province), 13-Jaque Fourie (Western Province), 12-Juan de Jongh (Western Province), 11-Bryan Habana (Western Province), 10-Morne Steyn (Blue Bulls), 9-Ricky Januarie (Western Province), 8-Pierre Spies (Blue Bulls), 7-Francois Louw (Western Province), 6-Schalk Burger (Western Province), 5-Andries Bekker (Western Province), 4-Bakkies Botha (Blue Bulls), 3-Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), 2-John Smit (Sharks, capt.), 1-Gurthro Steenkamp (Blue Bulls).
Substitutes: 16-Chiliboy Ralepelle (Blue Bulls), 17-BJ Botha (Ulster), 18-Flip van der Merwe (Blue Bulls), 19-Dewald Potgieter (Blue Bulls), 20-Ruan Pienaar (Sharks), 21-Butch James (Bath), 22-Wynand Olivier (Blue Bulls).
Italy: 15-Luke McLean (Treviso), 14-Michele Sepe (Viadana), 13-Gonzalo Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), 12-Andrea Masi (Racing-Metro Paris), 11-Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), 10-Craig Gower (Bayonne), 9-Simon Picone (Treviso), 8-Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais, capt.), 7-Paul Derbyshire (Petrarca Padova), 6-Manoa Vosawai (Parma), 5-Marco Bortolami (Gloucester), 4-Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Viadana), 3-Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), 2-Fabio Ongaro (Saracens), 1-Salvatore Perugini (Bayonne).
Substitutes: 16-Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso), 17-Franco Sbaraglini (Treviso), 18-Quintin Geldenhuys (Viadana), 19-Alessandro Zanni (Treviso), 20-Tito Tebaldi (Parma), 21-Riccardo Bocchino (Rovigo), 22-Matteo Pratichetti
