Springboks overcome Wiese red card to crush Italy

eNCA

2 days ago

GQEBERHA - Fired-up South Africa overcame a first-half red card for number 8 Jasper Wiese to beat Italy 45-0 in Gqeberha on Saturday and complete a 2-0 Test series victory.
Wiese was sent off after 22 minutes for head-butting prop Danilo Fischetti in a penalty-riddled match that also saw one South African and two Italians yellow-carded.
At one stage in the second half at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium it was 13 versus 15 after Springboks prop Wilco Louw was yellow-carded.
Fischetti followed Louw to the sin bin three minutes later and replacement loose forward David Odiase was yellow-carded in the closing stages.
"I am really pleased, and I am sure my teammates are also thrilled that we could deliver a performance like that," said Springboks captain and lock Salmaan Moerat.
"We knew the threat the Italians posed. They are a quality side who made it really hard for us last week, and also this week, especially when we were down one man early in the game.
"I thought we did really well to show character and pull through. The boys really played with heart tonight."
- le Roux becomes centurion -
Italy captain and lock Niccolo Cannone said: "It was a very tough game, we know the level of the Springboks. I am proud of my team, but we have to improve many things because this is a high level.
"We fought until the end, but we fell too far behind in the fist half to have a realistic chance of victory and levelling the series."
Amid the disciplinary mayhem, full-back Willie le Roux became the eighth Springbok to win 100 caps. He received rapturous applause when substituted midway through the second half.
Back Ethan Hooker and forwards Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Cobus Wiese - a brother of Jasper -- made their Test debuts off the bench in a second half that became increasingly scrappy.
A South African side showing 11 changes to the starting line-up after a mixed first Test performance last weekend scored seven tries to the delight of the capacity 44,282 crowd.
Winger Edwill van der Merwe, recalled after a 13-month absence, scored twice in the first half and won the player of the match award. Scrum-half Grant Williams and centre Canan Moodie also crossed the tryline.
After missing his first two conversions with kicks that veered left of the near post, fly-half Manie Libbok succeeded with the next two and South Africa led 24-0 at half-time.
The record four-time Rugby World Cup winners added another three tries in the second half through hooker Malcolm Marx, winger Makazole Mapimpi and replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Libbok converted them all to finish with a personal tally of 10 points, and his mix of kicking and running was impressive in an electric atmosphere.
Italy, fielding only five of the starters in a narrow Six Nations Championship loss to Ireland last March, rarely threatened to score and conceded many penalties.