Mapimpi says Boks can dazzle in his Eastern Cape stamping ground
10 July 2025 - 12:48
Playing a rare Test match in Gqeberha in front of a passionate crowd will be an electrifying experience for the Springboks when they face a dangerous Italy, Eastern Cape-raised wing Makazole Mapimpi says...
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The South African
28 minutes ago
- The South African
Springbok player ratings: Agents of chaos thrive!
The new-look Springbok side blanked Italy 45-0 in the second and final Test between the sides to clinch a 2-0 series win on Saturday night. The Springboks combined physical dominance and structure with finesse and exciting innovation to outscored the ever-improving Azzurri seven tries to none in front of a packed and vocal crowd. The match was veteran fullback Willie le Roux's 100th Test for the Springboks, while all three debutants – Cobus Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Ethan Hooker – named on the bench came on to earn their first cap in the second half. So as the Springbok juggernaut rolls on, here are some key player ratings based on today's individual performance: Flurry of tries, multi-dimensional, ball retention. Started match unconventionally, but clear intentions. High intensity. Springboks showing off versatility of their game and personnel as well. Andre Esterhuizen 9/10 Tasked with scrumming down on the side of the scrum from early in the first half, Esterhuizen did so with aplomb. As he has done before, the centre took the positional switch in his stride and didn't look out of place for a second. He played the role of flanker to perfection today. Edwill van der Merwe 8/10 Featuring in his first Test since suffering that horrid injury last year, Van der Merwe also looked the part. The winger was full of running and at his line-breaking best. The fleet-footed Springbok was rewarded with two tries for his efforts. Grant Williams 8/10 With Williams at scrumhalf, this Springbok team looked a different prospect altogether. His speed of pass (in open play and off the base of the ruck and scrum) and speed with ball in hand are just some of his capabilities that makes him the clear-cut back-up scrumhalf behind Faf de Klerk. Marco van Staden 8/10 Van Staden is another who had to switched positions mid-game as he moved from flank to eighthman. On show today was his high work-load, which included fantastic tackling and superb contesting at the breakdown. His powerful carries were also a sight to behold. Jasper Wiese 5/10 For all his excellence on the rugby field, Jasper Wiese sometimes does exceptionally daft things. He was red carded as early as the 22nd minute for a clear head-butt. And while his thuggish behaviour may not have proved costly for the Springboks today, it could have major repercussions against better opposition in more significant games. He needs a stern talking to after this stunt. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT FROM TODAY'S SPRINGBOKS TEST? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
32 minutes ago
- IOL News
Springboks redeem themselves in Gqeberha to wrap two-Test series in against Italy
Springbok winger and Player of the Match Edwill van der Merwe dives over in the corner for one of his two tries against Italy on Saturday in Gqeberha. Image: BackpagePix Doctor Rassie Erasmus and his Springboks pulled out all the stops to entertain the crowd in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as they romped to a thrilling 45-0 victory over Italy in the second Test in Gqeberha. The seven-try win emphatically seals the two-Test series, and it opens the door for Erasmus to experiment even further against Georgia in Nelspruit in the final mid-year match this coming Saturday. Not even the 21st-minute red card to eighth man Jasper Wiese for a headbutt could spoil the enterprising play the world champions dished up in front of a capacity crowd. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The action started at the kick-off already, where a pre-worked-out short kick from flyhalf Manie Libbok caught everyone off guard, even the Italians. No one knew that start was coming, except of course the Boks, and it resulted in a scrum. Unfortunately, an early engagement didn't result in a full scrum and an opportunity for the Bok machine to lay the marker at that scrum. There were rumours that the Boks trained the kick-off move this week, but even for an Erasmus innovation, that stunt seemed a bit far-fetched. Who starts a game wanting a scrum after seconds of play? But then again, Erasmus has never had his thoughts inside the box when it comes to coaching and tactical play, and that was a proper move away from the conventional start to matches. That is outrageous. Yes, copied, but in Test rugby, you pull off that move. In the air ball and a maul and the #Springboks score #RSAvITA — Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) July 12, 2025 That little ingenuity was not all the back-to-back World Cup winners had up their sleeve, though. And they showed their hand early on. A lineout type of lift in open play to catch a pass was orchestrated in the Italian 22m area. From that catch, a maul was manufactured and led to a penalty advantage with the Italians trying to collapse it. Outside centre Canan Moodie busted through a couple of defenders to score the fourth try ahead of the break from that maul. In the second half, hooker Malcolm Marx scored off the same type of manufactured maul, with the move paying off again. Some slick backline play led to the opening try by Grant Williams, where Libbok assisted alongside winger Makazole Mapimpi, while the mercurial Bok flyhalf also had a hand in the first score of home debutant, right wing Edwill van der Merwe. Van der Merwe's second five-pointer came after a neat little chip by centurion Willie le Roux, who delivered a solid performance in his 100th Test. 🏉 ℂ𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕀𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 🏉 𝐓𝐑𝐘: The first try of the match by Grant Williams! 🇿🇦 🆚 🇮🇹 🚨 LIVE 📺 SABC 2 🌐 #Springboks #RSAvITA — SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 12, 2025 Van der Merwe, named Player of the Match, chased the kick, and after a fumble by the Italians, he kicked it through and chased the ball down behind the posts to dive over. In his second try, where he was almost tackled out, Libbok threw a brilliant flat pass to get him in space to dive over in the corner. The four first-half tries were stunning, and the Gqeberha crowd lapped up every little bit of play of the world champions. After the maul try by Marx, the entertainment died down a bit on the field, especially when Erasmus brought on the substitutions systematically. Here and there, some moments of magic flared up, but it was a largely physical second half, coupled with box kicks that the Boks chased with a lot of success. That physical dominance, especially at the rolling maul, led to the sixth try that Mapimpi scored in front of a jubilant crowd. Libbok again played a big role with his distribution as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu took a drifting pass after André Esterhuizen started the move. Speaking about Esterhuizen, he was outstanding alongside Marx. The duo led the physical charge. The inside centre was prominent amongst the forwards to do the dirty work, but he also carried strongly on the offensive and tackled hard to help keep the Italians scoreless. While the talk will be about the attack, defending with such precision after receiving a red and yellow card in the game must be applauded. Even the few times Italy broke the defensive line, the scrambling of the world champions was brilliant. They said they will right their wrongs from last week. Apart from the cards, the Boks did just that. The players acquitted themselves well of their task, and despite the number of changes to the team, they played like a polished unit. That bodes well for the rest of the 2025 Tests. Springboks: 45 (24): Tries: Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5). Italy 0.
The Herald
37 minutes ago
- The Herald
Innovative Boks blank Italy in Gqeberha
SA cruised to a 45-0 victory over Italy in Gqeberha on Saturday to win the series 2-0 as wing Edwill van der Merwe scored two tries and the Springboks introduced some innovative plays that resulted in further scores. Scrumhalf Grant Williams, centre Canan Moodie, hooker Malcolm Marx, wing Makazole Mapimpi and replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels also crossed for tries in a performance that was far from perfect but enough to see off the Italians, who were ferocious at the breakdown but ultimately outgunned. The home side lost number eight Jasper Wiese to a needless permanent red card on 21 minutes for a headbutt, but made light of that numerical disadvantage on a night where fullback Willie le Roux became the eighth Springbok to win 100 caps. Coach Rassie Erasmus introduced some innovative plays, including intentionally conceding a scrum from the kickoff, and twice creating midfield 'line-outs' with lifting in open play that led to driving mauls and ultimately tries. SA dominated Italy in the scrum in last week's 42-24 win in Pretoria and forced a set-piece immediately from their own kickoff to keep the pressure on in what is surely a first for Test rugby. Williams and Van der Merwe crossed for eye-catching scores, before the home side were reduced to 14 players when Wiese was given a red card for a headbutt on Italy prop Danilo Fischetti as they came together after a stoppage in play. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion for Wiese with his younger brother Cobus debuting off the bench turned sour. Italy's intensity at the breakdown, a key area they have targeted in both tests, made it chaos on the floor and denied the Springboks quick ball. But there was more Springbok innovation in the build-up to their fourth try for Moodie as, in broken play, lock Ruan Nortje was lifted in centrefield to collect a pass. That created a maul and allowed them to drive forward, winning a penalty for an Italian collapse, but also setting Moodie free to score his try. They repeated the play in the second half and again won a penalty they did not need as Marx barged over the line, before Mapimpi and Wessels dotted down late on. — Reuters
