If Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus needed any help in warning his team about the dangers of underestimating Italy ahead of Saturday’s first test at Loftus he could have done worse than enlist his several Sharks players for help.
It was just three months ago that Zebre, the inferior of the two Italian teams playing in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, visited Hollywoodbets Kings Park and pushed the Sharks all the way. It was a stifling hot and humid day, conditions that should have favoured the hosts, and yet the Durbanites had to rely on a last gasp try to win the game.
There weren’t that many Boks present, but someone like Vincent Tshituka, who plays his debut test on Saturday, would have been when the Sharks lost to Benetton in Treviso last October, and Benetton also beat the Sharks in Durban last May. Coming to think of it, the Sharks were beaten by Zebre in Parma in November 2023 too.
Italian rugby is on the up, and there is talent coming through at age-group level, as evidenced by how the Junior All Blacks were pushed by their Italian counterparts this past Sunday. The Kiwis got home 14-5, but the game was in the balance for most of the way, and Italy have excelled at previous Junior World Cups.
NO QUIBBLES ABOUT SIX NATIONS STATUS NOW
Their senior team has erased any questions over their right to be part of the Guinness Six Nations with several wins on the bounce now against Wales, home and away. They came close to upsetting England in the last tournament, and drew with drawn and won against Scotland in last year’s tournament.
The Boks have won against Italy in South Africa by some big scores, and they put 63 points past the Italians the last time the two teams met, which was in Genoa in 2022. The game before that was the 49-3 win in Shizouka in what was viewed as a decisive Pool game at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
But this will be the first time Italy come here having the greater familiarity with playing at South African venues, and in particular playing on the highveld, that has been brought by this country’s participation in the URC. The South African physicality, the lung sapping altitude, aren’t as alien to them as would have been the case even in 2022, when the URC had just begun.
FULL STRENGTH SIDE SHOULD MEAN ANOTHER BIG WIN
However, while there is reason for cautionary tales to warn the Boks, Saturday’s game in Pretoria should see Jesse Kriel’s team do something similar to what they did in Cape Town last week against the Barbarians. Italy did warm up with a good 73-6 win over Namibia last week, thus confirming they belong at a different level to the lower tier nations, but they are missing several top performers on this trip.
The list of experienced players who were not named in the 33-man squad for this tour are hooker Gianmarci Lucchesi, locks Dino Lamb and Federico Ruzza, half-backs Martin Page-Relo and Paolo Garbisi, midfielder Juan Ignacio Brex, former skipper and back-row stalwart Michele Lamaro and utility backs Ange Capuozzo and Tommaso Allan.
More than that, the Boks have resisted the temptation to use this first game of the two match series to experiment. Erasmus does want to spread his depth, and he isn’t afraid of trying things, which has been proven over and over again, but he does like to build into a season off a strong foundation.
Three years ago when the test season also started at Loftus with a match against Wales, the Boks nearly came unstuck. They had to rely on a late Damian Willemse penalty to get them the win. But the Boks have grown since then, and the team that Erasmus has assembled for Saturday is a strong one.
Indeed, if you factor in that Pieter-Steph du Toit is injured, hence the selection of Tshituka, and ditto Siya Kolisi, plus Morne van den Bergh has been playing well enough to nail down to the No 9 jersey, this looks like the strongest available Bok team.
TALK AROUND ATTACK OMINOUS FOR ITALY
And it is a Bok team that has spent some time talking about the need to lift the attack during the media sessions, plus they must be looking forward to flexing their attacking muscles 12 months after they played their first game on South African soil with Tony Brown as their attack coach. That was against Ireland, who came here on a mission, so it wasn’t really the perfect stage for the Boks to put it all together. Not at such an embryonic stage of the Brown influence.
But now they’ve had a year to get used to what is expected, and while they will respect Italy, this is also a calibre of opponent they can fill their boots against if they get their execution right. The Barbarians team posted more than 50 points against in Cape Town last week was a makeshift one, but it was also a wet day.
On Saturday they will expect dry conditions that are perfect for attacking rugby and if they hit their straps they should win comfortably. Their full strength pack, with Eben Etzebeth back and Wilco Louw added, should be too strong for Italy. The backs should be too good.
Italy have a new skipper on Saturday in the form of lock Niccolò Cannone, who takes over from the skipper from last week, Giacomo Nicotera. In all there are seven changes to the Italy team, presumably aimed at strengthening a side that was good seven days ago.
So Italy shouldn’t be underestimated. However, their last few games against New Zealand or France have been one-sided affairs (France posted 73 against them in the Six Nations) and the Boks should be looking to do something similar on a stage that is perfect for their game.
Teams
South Africa: Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handre Pollard, Morne van den Bergh, Jasper Wiese, Vincent Tshituka, Marco van Staden, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux.
Italy: Jacopo Trulla, Louis Lynagh, Tommaso Menoncello, Marco Zanon, Simone Gesi, Giacomo Da Re, Alessandro Fusco, Lorenzo Cannone, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Izekor, Andrea Zambonin, Niccolò Cannone, Simone Ferrari, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Danilo Fischetti. Replacements: Pablo Dimcheff, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Matteo Canali, Ross Vintcent, David Odiase, Alessandro Garbisi, Giulio Bertaccini.
Referee: Holly Davidson (SRU)
Kick-off: 17.10
Prediction: Springboks to win by 30 or more.