By Phumlani Saul
South Africa delivered a much-improved performance, recording a comfortable 45-0 win over Italy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
Following their 42-24 win over Italy at Loftus Versfeld last week, the Springboks were out to produce a dominant display.
And in terms of the scoreboard, they certainly delivered as they blanked Italy for time in 26 years.
There will be concerns regarding the discipline, with Jasper Wiese red-carded for a head-butt in the 21st minute, leaving the Springboks to play with 14 men for the majority of the match.
Wilco Louw also spent 10 minutes in the bin after his dangerous tackle in the 44th minute.
Nonetheless, the World Champions were innovative and outscored the Italians seven tries to none, with Edwill van der Merwe (2), Grant Williams, Canan Moodie, Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi and Jan-Hendrik Wessels all crossing the whitewash.
Manie Libbok added the other points via five conversions.
The victory was extra special for South Africa, as one of their stars, Willie le Roux, was celebrating his 100th Test cap.
Le Roux is the eighth South African to join the elite Centurion club, and the fourth backline player to do so.
For Italy, it was a frustrating match. They made unforced errors, which proved to be costly, while Danilo Fischetti and David Odiase were yellow-carded, leaving the team with a mountain to climb.
It was a very unorthodox start, with South Africa purposefully botching the kick-off for an immediate scrum to begin the match.
However, it backfired as Italy came away with a penalty.
Nonetheless, Boks quickly were back on attack and after a knock-on by Jasper Wiese, which saw Pieter-Steph Du Toit’s try chalked off, the Boks eventually got over the line courtesy of Sharks scrumhalf Williams.
At the back of dominant scrum, Van der Merwe made a break before giving it to Mapimpi, who showed great pace and found Williams for the first five-pointer.
Then Van der Merwe also got his name on the scoreboard. The wing went over in the corner after an incredible pass by Libbok inside the Italians’ 22.
With a 10-0 lead, the Boks went down to 14 men when Jasper Wiese was red-carded for a headbutt after a scuffle with Danilo Fischetti.
The red card may have put a sombre atmosphere on the occasion – just for a minute, but it also gave Rassie Erasmus’ troops a chance to readjust and rejig their game plan, giving Andre Esterhuizen extra work in the pack
Erasmus also employed one of his Bomb Squad members early, with Ox Nché replacing Thomas du Toit in the 30th minute.
The change proved to be a stroke of genius, as Nché’s introduction saw the Springboks dominate the scrum, leading to a penalty advantage that set up Van der Merwe’s second try.
From the back of the scrum, Le Roux booted the ball downfield, and Van der Merwe benefited from a kind bounce to score the try. Libbok finally managed to add the conversion for a 17-0 lead.
The Springboks were ruthless. Williams found Moodie, who showed tremendous strength and bounced a couple of defenders for a try. Libbok slotted the conversion for a 24-0 lead at the break.
The World Champs started the second half with the same intent. They quickly found themselves five metres away from the Italian try-line, but great work at the breakdown saw the visitors survive the onslaught.
Then Wilco Louw copped a yellow card for a high tackle and Italy’s Danilo Fischetti for repeated infringements, leaving the Boks with 13 men and Italy with 14.
Van der Merwe almost had a third, but Le Roux’s pass was ruled forward.
However, the crowd was on its feet moments later as Malcolm Marx drove over, again from the manufactured midfield maul to Nortje.
Libbok’s third conversion made it 31-0 to the Boks.
Erasmus injected fresh legs into his backline, with Cobus Reinach, Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and debutant Ethan Hooker replacing Williams, Le Roux, and Moodie, respectively. Cobus Wiese made his Test debut 55 minutes in, with Evan Roos also getting a run at No. 8. Soon after, Asenathi Ntlabakanye became the third new cap of the evening.
The bench made an impact, with Reinach staying busy and Hooker making solid tackles, but the star of the show remained Van der Merwe, who never stopped chasing and winning high balls or making big tackles.
Eight minutes from time, Mapimpi scored from a line-out move, with soft hands and fast feet bamboozling the Italians and giving the try-scoring king some space on the left. Libbok kicked the conversion for the 38-0 was a fair reflection of the Boks’ dominance.
But the Boks had one more play left with a minute to go. Wessels, who chased everyone and everything all evening, scored the final try from a line-out, and Libbok kicked the conversion from the corner for the victory.
South Africa will return to action next Saturday in Mbombela, where they face Georgia in a one-off Test.
Man of the Match: There were a lot of options. Grant Williams deserves a mention for his effective work behind the pack. Edwill van der Merwe was another standout with his two tries. Malcolm Marx was crucial, making his tackles and scrumming well. However, our nod goes to Manie Libbok. The flyhalf missed a couple of conversions but made up for it with his open play. His cross-kicks were effective, and he had a hand in a couple of the Springboks’ tries.
Moment of the Match: When Ox Nché entered the field in the 30th minute and immediately dominated a scrum.
Villain of the Match: Both teams’ discipline, which saw two yellow cards – Danilo Fischetti, Wilco Louw and David Odiasi – and a red card handed to Jasper Wiese.
Daily Kasi News 