Boks get another English ref for Italy Test, Barnes on assistant referee duty

An Englishman will again oversee a Springbok Test when the world champions tackle Italy in Genoa on Saturday. 

The English RFU's Matthew Carley will referee Saturday's match, with his compatriot Wayne Barnes and Scotland's Sam Grove-White acting as assistant referees. Frenchman Eric Gauzins will be the television match official (TMO).

Barnes refereed South Africa's 30-26 defeat to France in Paris last weekend. His performance was put under the spotlight after SA Rugby's director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, highlighted several errors in videos uploaded on Twitter.

Erasmus copped flak for his commentary, but he was unrepentant at a media conference in Genoa on Tuesday, insisting he wasn't having a go at referees. 

"It's not about having a go at the referees. If I was having a go at the referee, well, I don't think Wayne Barnes would make all those [perceived] bad decisions. He's No 1 in the world and has 100 Tests under the belt," said Erasmus. 

"It's obviously something on our side we need to fix. I just want supporters to understand that. If people put a narrative to that, I can't control it." 

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Saturday's Test at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris kicks off at 15:00 (SA time).

Springbok team:

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok