Italy 21 (13) South Africa 63 (18)

South Africa’s northern hemisphere tour finally took off – perhaps a few weeks too late – in Genoa on Saturday as the Springboks smashed Italy 63-21, scoring nine tries in the process.

It would be easy to say, “well, it’s only Italy,” but this was an emphatic performance against a very good side. Italy came into the match after beating Australia and they beat Wales earlier in the year – the same Wales that won their first ever Test in South Africa and were unlucky to lose another to an injury time penalty by Damian Willemse at Loftus in July.

Between the Springboks and South Africa ‘A’, they had contrived to lose four matches on this tour. To compound matters, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus copped another ban for continued criticism of match officials on social media. It has been a difficult trudge through autumnal Europe and Britain for the best South African rugby has to offer.

So, in that context, the win against Italy was massive. And the manner of victory added gloss to the victory because it was a day – well, 40 minutes – where the Boks’ attack looked razor sharp.

After the previous week’s noticeable shift in tactics against France, when the Boks played more ball-in-hand and attacked with more ambition, it was a continuation of that theme. Despite losing 30-26 to France, the Boks produced arguably their best performance of the season.

Skipper Siya Kolisi said before the Italy match that the players were enjoying the more ambitious approach, and were excited to build on it against Italy. Kolisi, and the team, were true to their word.

Delivering on potential 

After a frustrating year of mistakes in promising positions, the second half at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris finally saw the Boks deliver on their potential.

Willemse was a joy, even when shifted to wing when Manie Libbok came on at flyhalf for his second Test cap. Willie le Roux was magnificent when ghosting into the line to create an extra man and deliver devilishly accurate passes while wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe buzzed and threatened continually, scoring three tries between them.

Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse scores the first of his two tries against Italy in Genoa. The Boks won 63-21. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Even centres Andre Esterhuizen and Damian de Allende, who produced a staccato first half, grew into the game. By the second half, Esterhuizen was doing a passable impression of Lukhanyo Am with his distribution. There is not much higher praise than that.

Faf de Klerk, and later Cobus Reinach, directed traffic from scrumhalf with pace and decisiveness, which was the starting point for stressing the Italian defence.

But like all noteworthy performances, it started with a dominant pack. The Bok eight didn’t have it all their own way in the first half, as Italy matched the world champions.

The effort it took though, came back to hurt the Azzurri later on. When coach Jacques Nienaber deployed the bomb squad early in the second half, they just blew Italy’s pack off the park.

Lock Eben Etzebeth immediately took control of the match with his physicality while Kwagga Smith and Malcolm Marx added the brutal finesse as the Italian pack wilted.

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But the bomb squad was so effective thanks to the foundations of the starting eight. And none did more than Kolisi. He was colossal for the entire match.

He spent much of the afternoon out in the tramlines, supporting the wings. But when he needed to get dirty in the trenches, he was there too, dominating his opponents, cutting a commanding presence.

Prop Ox Nché also enjoyed a strong afternoon, as did No 8 Jasper Wiese before he was withdrawn to allow Evan Roos another taste of Test rugby. The young Stormers No 8 gave a decent cameo, which was handy as he will almost certainly be deployed against England next week.

Perfect start

The match started perfectly for the Boks with Arendse scooting in for the first of his two tries in the second minute after a brief rolling maul from a lineout and two wonderful passes from Willemse and Le Roux.

Italy flyhalf Tommaso Allan landed a penalty to cut the deficit and then the home side stunningly took the lead when lively fullback Ange Capuozzo ran a great line after a superb flick pass from flank Michele Lamaro. It was a stunning try that enhanced Capuozzo’s reputation as one of rugby’s rising new stars.

Kolbe slotted a penalty next before Allan’s second penalty gave Italy a five point lead after 21 minutes. Although the Boks trailed on the scoreboard, they appeared to be comfortable and were slowly building pressure. They also played into a stiff wind.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored off the back of a rolling maul on the half hour, which put the Boks back in front and they never looked back.

Kolbe scored a stunning try from a restart early in the second half, chasing and plucking the ball out of the air and off centre Luca Morisi’s fingertips. Kolbe, though, suffered a hamstring injury in the process.

Manie Libbok slots one of his five conversions against Italy in Genoa. (Photo by Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images)

That led to Libbok’s introduction and the Stormers flyhalf revelled in the role of chief playmaker. For the final 35 minutes he pulled strings and tormented the Italian defence while also landing five conversions.

Smith, Marx, prop Steven Kitshoff, Willemse and Reinach scored the rest of the Boks tries as they completed the rout and went beyond 60 points for the first time under coach Jacques Nienaber.

Damian Willemse was a handful for the Italian defence, even when he moved out to win later in the game. (Photo by Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images)

Seeking consistency

“I’m pleased with the way we prepared for the match,” Kolisi said after the match.

“We showed Italy the respect that they deserve, and as I said on Friday, they’re a very different team to a few years ago.

“We knew we had to play to the best of our ability, and it was clear by how tight the first half was. We had to dig deep. As South Africans we are used to facing adversity and we knew we had to lift ourselves. Our focus all week was only on the game because it was very important for us to get a win today.

“As a team we want to play well, score tries, offload and put people away, and we enjoyed the game today. We also enjoy the physical part of the game, and to get that balance right was important. That said, doing this once is not enough, we have to keep doing it. 

 “The last two games were very close, but I believe we are heading in the right direction.”

Nienaber echoed Kolisi’s sentiments and said: “We certainly all want to see the team moving forward in this direction. Today we capitalised on the opportunities we created, but I don’t think it was a near perfect performance.

“We can always get better. That said, the work the guys have put in over the last month in terms of where we want to be heading into 2023 is great. The players are taking ownership and we are building.

“But as Siya said, one good game isn’t good enough. We need to get consistency. The challenge of course is when things don’t always go your way, to dig yourself out of it and try to get consistency.” DM

 Scorers:
Italy
Tries: Ange Capuozzo, Lorenzo Cannone. Conversion: Tommaso Allan. Penalties: Allan (3).

South Africa
Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Bongi Mbonambi, Cheslin Kolbe, Kwagga Smith, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Damian Willemse, Cobus Reinach. Conversions: Kolbe, Manie Libbok (5). Penalties: Kolbe (2).