The back-to-back world champions dotted down six tries in their first Test of the year, but they can count themselves a bit fortunate in the second stanza as Italy fought back hard. The famed ‘bomb squad’ had far less impact than expected.

The Boks surged to a 28–3 lead at half-time, thanks to a brace of tries by scrumhalf Morné van den Berg, and further five-pointers by captain Jesse Kriel and Kurt-Lee Arendse. Flyhalf Handré Pollard added four conversions during that period.

In the second half, however, the Azzurri outscored South Africa, with Manuel Zuliani, Pablo Dimcheff, and Niccolò Cannone all crossing the whitewash. Giacomo Da Re slotted all three conversions. The contest was much tighter than the scoreline suggested, and with a bit of luck, Italy might have been in a position to push for a famous win.

Replacement tighthead Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden scored second-half tries for the Boks, helping the hosts stay in front on the scoreboard.

Following the win, Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted it was a frustrating performance – too close for comfort – and said they’ll need to go back to the drawing board ahead of the second Test in Gqeberha.

“It was a very frustrating game. When they leave some of their big names at home, you expect this kind of scrap – a real down-and-dirty battle – because these youngsters have nothing to lose,” said Erasmus.

“But we knew they’d step up, and they certainly did.

“In most departments, they tested us – scrums, mauls, defence, attack. It was a proper Test match. When we were 28–3 up, we scored a try that was disallowed for obstruction, and from there we lost momentum. Honestly, it was just frustrating.”

Kurt-Lee Arendse. Photo: Springboks

Erasmus added that it’s better to have a performance like this early in the season, but considering the experience in the Bok lineup, things should have gone more smoothly.

“Yes, I’d rather have it now – you’re right,” he continued. “But not with the team we put out. There weren’t many new guys. Krappies (Morné van den Berg) and Jan-Hendrik (Wessels) were the only real newcomers, so we can’t really make excuses.

“I think it ended as a 15- or 20-point game, I’m not exactly sure. But it certainly makes next week’s selection interesting – Italy could easily have come back into it if one or two of their tries weren’t disallowed.

Vincent Koch. Photo: Springboks

“One of ours was disallowed too, but they really fronted up. We tried to impose our game on them, but they didn’t allow it.”

The second Test will take place this coming Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

Springboks: Tries - Jesse Kriel, Morné van den Berg 2, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden Conv. - Handré Pollard 6

Italy: Tries - Manual Zuliani, Pablo Dimcheff, Niccolo Cannone Conv. - Giacomo De Re 3 Pen. - De Re

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg