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The world champions started their 2025 test season with a win by defeating Italy 42-24 in the opening game of the Castle Lager Incoming Series on Saturday, 5th July at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, but the Springbok coach was less than impressed by his side’s performance.
Kriel (10'), Berg (22', 36'), Arendse (29'), Koch (56'), Staden (73')
Tries
Zuliani (45'), Dimcheff (62'), Cannone (67')
Pollard (11', 22', 30', 37', 57', 73')
Conversions
Re (46', 63', 68')
Penalties
Re (27')
The world champions started their 2025 test season with a win by defeating Italy 42-24 in the opening game of the Castle Lager Incoming Series on Saturday, 5th July at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, but the Springbok coach was less than impressed by his side’s performance.
Rassie Erasmus said he would reconsider his pre-planned selection test in Gqebera next week after he felt the team did not show the intensity needed in the second half and actually lost the second period 14-12, after leading 28-3 at the break. The Azzurri’s response saw them get to within 11 points going into the final 10 minutes before the Boks sealed the win.
This was the 16th victory for the Boks over Italy, with the Italians having just the one scalp under their belts.
In total, the Boks ran in six tries compared to three from the Azzurri but Erasmus said that they might need to switch up the planned selections, with as many as 14 players having been told they would get a run out in the second test now being reconsidered.
Erasmus praised the physicality and fitness of the relatively inexperienced side that Head Coach Gonzalo Quesada had put out in Pretoria - the team had to make 120 tackles in the first half alone but did not fade away as expected.
“It’s a team that’s fit and passionate and we have to make sure that the team that we put out next week is not just a team that can go 50 or 60 minutes it must be a team that can go 80 minutes,” explained Erasmus in a rare admonishment of his players in public.
He also bemoaned the stop-start nature of the match but conceded that without playing really well, they still won relatively comfortably.
Italy captain Niccolo Cannone, who scored a try, said: "We are very happy with our performance. It was a very tough, physical game. But we are happy, although there are some details to improve for next weekend.
We know the guys we were playing against because we play them a lot in the United Rugby Championship. But this is another type of game, and they are different when they wear that (Springbok) jersey."
In front of 42,632 at Loftus, the hosts did have early scrum dominance, and it was first-time test captain Jesse Kriel who scored the first of the six tries as the side led 7-0 with the opening quarter. Morne van den Berg added his first test try before flyhalf Giacomo Da Re slotted a penalty goal for the first Italian points.
Van den Berg’s box-kicking was exceptional these past two weeks, and he is playing for a hotly contested scrumhalf position. With the wings he has at his disposal, an accurate kicking game to get the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse a good contest is vital.
A score from Kurt-Lee Arendse and a second try from Van den Berg saw the Boks lead healthily at the break. Upfront, the South African front row had the better of the visitors, and Ox Nche and Wilco Louw were too good for Danilo Fischetti and Simone Ferrari.
The Boks did well too, while the visitors were down to 14 after 8th man Lorenzo Cannone was sin-binned by Scottish referee Hollie Davidson.
In the second half, Italien tries from Manual Zuliani, Simone Gesi, Pablo Dimcheff, and captain Niccolo Cannone made it a much closer match than would have been expected but the Boks had done enough to win the game.
The now-famed ‘Bomb Squad’ was largely diffused in the second half despite having some real potential firepower.
Of note, Vincent Koch scored in the half for his first try for South Africa in his 62nd Test, and a personal accolade for Willie le Roux who came on to earn his 99th cap. Marco van Staden scored the final try of the game to close things out.
Fly-half Handre Pollard slotted all six conversions, and now has 784 points in 81 Springbok Tests.
South Africa captain and centre Jesse Kriel (who has the armband while Kolisi recovers from a niggle) said after the match, “We knew it would be tough because Italy are an extremely passionate side. We certainly did not write them off, and they showed why.
He admitted there are work-ons for the side before next week’s game and before tougher matches to come in 2025.
“In the first half, we started strong, but in the second half, they defended like their life depended on it. So it was very tough, but it always is at Test level. We let ourselves down a bit at the breakdown. They defended very well, but we wanted quick ball to attack with. They frustrated us, and we have a lot of work to do there."
