The Springboks will be hoping that they shook off any ‘cobwebs’ last weekend, and that their second Test performance against Italy is vastly improved as they target a bigger and better victory over the Azzurri.
Saturday’s Test against Italy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport and SABC.
KEEP TRACK OF THE LIVE SCORING BELOW FOR THE SPRINGBOKS V ITALY ‘REMATCH’:
ALL THE MATCH INFORMATION FOR THE SPRINGBOKS V ITALY:
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.
Italy: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Giacomo De Re, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Manual Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolo Cannone (captain), 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimcheff, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 David Odiase, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Giulio Bertaccini.
Of course a special occasion on Saturday will see Willie le Roux reach 100 Test caps, and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and stand-in captain Salmaan Moerat were full of praise for the fullback, who will become only the eighth player in history to reach this milestone for South Africa.
“To play 100 Test matches is a massive achievement,” said Stick.
“The first time I met Willie was during my sevens rugby days, and if one looks back at what he has been through and how people criticised him in 2019, it makes us very proud of him. Many people don’t see what we see in him as a player and what a smart rugby player he is.”
Moerat added: “I grew up watching Willie play in Paarl and for Boland, and to see him play his 100th Test is unbelievable. To play one Test match for the Springboks is special, but to be selected 100 times shows the quality of the player he is.”
South Africa vs Italy at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha – 17:10
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Television Match Official: Tual Trainini (FFR)
Split Screen: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
Springbok record against Italy:
Played 17; Won 16; Lost 1; Points for: 806, Points against: 219; Tries scored 108, Tries conceded 19; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.
WHAT IS YOU SCORE PREDICTION?
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