Springboks blank Italy: Four talking points
Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe chases a chip from fullback Willie le Roux, on his way to score his second try against Italy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday night. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The Springboks produced a superb all-round performance, fronted by a ferocious defensive effort that led to them blanking Italy 45-0 in the second Test of their incoming series at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday night.
It was still not a perfect performance, but was a step up from their 42-24 first Test win over the Italian visitors at Loftus last weekend, made more impressive by them being down a man for most of the game after a first half red card.
Also, with a large number of changes made for the match, the Boks should be satisfied with their night's work.
Here are four talking points from the game:
Rassie's tricks and early scrum troubles
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is a genius innovator and he was at it again as from the starting kick-off, the Boks purposefully kicked it short, setting up an early scrum from which they could try and assert early dominance over the Italian scrum. However it didn't go to plan as Thomas du Toit was penalised for early engagement, which gave Italy a free kick. It was the start of a short but difficult night for Du Toit.
Italy received a second free kick from another early engagement from Du Toit, followed him being penalised with a long arm after another scrum infringement. His difficult night came to an end in the 30th minute when he was replaced by Ox Nche, with the Bok scrum immediately demolishing the Italian scrum when he came on. Du Toit is a very good player, and hopefully this was just a blip and he will be back to his best when he next gets a chance.
Willie's 100th and all action Edwill
Springbok stalwart Willie le Roux was given a great reception by the Nelson Mandela Bay crowd when he ran out for his 100th appearance for the national team. They also loudly cheered his first touch of the ball, which unfortunately ended in a knock on. But he soon settled into the game and enjoyed a decent day out in his milestone match, including setting up a try with a clever chip over the Italian defence.
If there ever was a player who is taking his chance when given, it is Edwill van der Merwe. He was incredibly unlucky to get injured last year after his man-of-the-match debut against Wales. In his second match for the Boks against Italy, he was again brilliant, sparking the move that led to the teams first try, while he finished off their second in the corner, and scored their third after a dink from Le Roux. Overall it was another magnificent action-packed performance from the winger.
Jasper's red card
The Springboks went down to 14-men in the 20th minute when eighthman Jasper Wiese was shown a red for a flash of anger in a scuffle. Wiese connected with a headbutt on an Italian player, and although the impact wasn't heavy, it was still a deserved sending off for foul play, and a very silly way to end his game. It also meant that he wouldn't be able to play with his brother Cobus for the first time in their professional career, when he came off the bench in the second half.
Despite being down a man, with them 10-0 up at the time, it didn't seem to slow the Boks down as they ran in another two tries over the rest of the half, to take a 24-0 lead into the break. The Boks were then down to 13 in the 44th minute, after Wilco Louw was yellow carded for head contact in a tackle, but Italy was down to 14 men themselves a few minutes later after repeated penalties, and in this time the Boks scored their fifth try.
Full 80 showing
Last week in the first Test at Loftus the Boks produced a decent first half effort to score four tries and lead 28-3 at the break. But followed that up with a poor second half performance that saw Italy fight back, with an eventual end score of 42-24. This weekend saw a similar showing in the first half, the Boks dotting down four tries to lead 24-0 at the break, but they followed that up with a solid second half to make sure it was a top all-round effort on the night.
Despite being down to 14-men after Wiese's 20th minute red card, and even 13-men when Wilco Louw was yellowed in the second half, the Boks didn't panic, continued to dominate at the breakdown and played the territory game, kicking deep into Italy's territory and making the visitors play from deep. They also added to their try tally through a maul try to Malcolm Marx, and scores in the corner from Makazole Mapimpi and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, while their brilliant defence kept the Italians scoreless on the night.
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