Sloppy Springboks struggle to see off battling Italy
South Africa's Morne van den Berg scored two tries as the Springboks fended off Italy in Pretoria. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP
South Africa laboured but still ran in six tries to secure a 42-24 victory over an inexperienced Italy side at Loftus Versfeld, as scrumhalf Morne van den Berg crossed the line twice in a stand-out performance.
The world champions were sloppy and often beaten at the breakdown and line-out as Italy put up a brave fight and heading into the final 10 minutes were still in the match against their vastly more experienced hosts.
Jesse Kriel, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, prop Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden also scored tries for the Springboks, who will seek an improved performance in next week's second test in Gqeberha.
Italy looked shellshocked as they trailed 28-3 at halftime, but they were much improved in the second period as flanker Manuel Zuliani, debutant replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff and captain Niccolo Cannone all scored tries.
"There will be disappointment in tonight's performance," Springboks scrumhalf Faf de Klerk said.
"Italy really made it hard for us at the breakdown, their forwards were phenomenal. We must look at it in the week and fix it for the next game."
South Africa were dominant in the first half, pushing Italy off the ball in the scrum and scoring four tries.
Kriel raced onto a grubber kick from midfield partner Damian de Allende to dot down and after Italy number eight Lorenzo Cannone received a yellow card for hands in the ruck, Van den Berg dived over from a powerful Springbok scrum.
Arendse burst through a gap in the visitors' defence to score his side's third try, and Van den Berg added another as the Springboks cut holes in their opponents' defence.
Italy scored the first points of the second half when Zuliani stretched to score a try, but replacement prop Koch barged his way over for the hosts.
Argentine-born Dimcheff finished off an excellent driving maul for Italy's second try, and when captain Niccolo Cannone added as third for the visitors, it was game on.
Van Staden's score ended Italian hopes, but there were many positives for touring side.
"I am very happy with the performance," Niccolo Cannone said. "We have to improve some details for next week, but we are very proud."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Le Roux tons up as Springboks make changes for Italy
South Africa fullback Willie le Roux will earn his 100th cap when he starts in Saturday's second test against Italy in Gqeberha, with Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus also naming three uncapped players among the replacements. It is a much changed selection from the team that failed to impress in a 42-24 victory over the touring Italians in Pretoria last week. Le Roux becomes the eighth player to reach 100 caps for the Springboks and makes up a back three that also includes wings Makazole Mapimpi and Edwill van der Merwe. "Willie has been a stalwart for us in the last few years after making his debut against Italy in Durban in 2013, and he's a fantastic playmaker, so we are thrilled to see him achieve this incredible feat," Erasmus said. There is a return from injury for Pieter-Steph du Toit alongside fellow flanker Marco van Staden, with Jasper Wiese keeping his place at number eight. Cobus Wiese, brother of No.8 Jasper, is one of three uncapped players on the bench along with prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and utility back Ethan Hooker. SOUTH AFRICA (to play Italy): Le Roux, Van der Merwe, Moodie, Esterhuizen, Mapimpi, Libbok, Williams, J Wiese, P-S Du Toit, Van Staden, Nortje, Moerat, Louw, Marx, T du Toit Replacements: Wessels, Nche, Ntlabakanye, Cs Wiese, Roos, Reinach, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Hooker
The Age
10 hours ago
- The Age
Alex de Minaur left Novak Djokovic gasping for breath. It wasn't enough
Heartbreak for Dimitrov as Sinner advances World No.1 Jannik Sinner's pursuit of a maiden Wimbledon title is still alive – but only after fourth-round opponent Grigor Dimitrov's horror injury misfortune continued. Dimitrov led Sinner 6-3, 7-5 and was serving to level the third set at two-all when after the penultimate point of the game he reached for his right pectoral muscle. The 34-year-old Bulgarian managed to serve an ace on the next point with a three-quarter-pace serve to complete the game, but immediately dropped to Wimbledon's centre court and grimaced as his injury fate sunk in. Sinner rushed across to speak to Dimitrov, and two trainers soon joined them, as everyone from fans to Roger Federer and Dimitrov's team watched on stony-faced at the cruel twist of fate. The world No.21 briefly left the court before returning to inform Sinner he was retiring as his emotions spilled over. It is the fifth consecutive grand slam that Dimitrov has retired mid-match due to an injury. Sinner embraced Dimitrov and helped him pack his bags before declaring in his on-court interview that he did not 'take this as a win at all'. The Italian had his own injury concern, jarring his elbow during an innocuous-looking fall in the first game. He said he would undergo an MRI scan on Tuesday to assess any potential damage. Sinner advances to a quarter-final clash with American Ben Shelton, who beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5. Novak Djokovic and Flavio Cobolli – a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3) winner over Marin Cilic – will meet in another men's quarter-final. Iga Swiatek overcame a slow start to progress on the women's side, defeating Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-1. Up next for the Pole is Russia's Liudmila Samsonova, who edged out Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 7-5, 7-5. Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic rounded out the quarter-final field with respective straight-sets victories over Emma Navarro and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Not capitalising on that advantage to force a deciding set was one of de Minaur's major regrets. Djokovic, as he has done so many times before – which Federer can ruefully vouch for – simply found a way back. De Minaur staved off two break-back points in the seventh game to haul himself back to deuce, but a third opportunity proved too much to defend. They fought out another engrossing baseline exchange, only for Djokovic to initially hurt de Minaur with an extreme angle on a cross-court forehand before blasting an inside-out forehand winner to get back on serve. It was a stampede from that moment. Djokovic held to love to level the set, then afforded de Minaur just one point as he broke the Australian again to earn the chance to serve the match out. Loading He did not drop another point in sealing his path to the last eight, finally putting a stop to de Minaur's stout resistance. Even in defeat, de Minaur was mostly magnificent. He seldom went far behind the baseline, and played aggressively whenever he could in the many exchanges he found himself in with Djokovic – and the longer they went, the better he was. De Minaur himself said afterwards that he went 'toe-to-toe with one of the greats' from the back of the court. The world No.11 won 36 of 52 points when rallies lasted nine shots or more, and many of them were absolutely spectacular and left Djokovic gasping for air, or with hands on hips as he went looking for answers from his player box. De Minaur used a wonderful cocktail of slicing and dicing, net play, pace changes and aggressive shot-making throughout the match. His forehand sometimes lets him down against the best opponents, but held up well against Djokovic. On the other hand, Djokovic did his damage with first-strike tennis, and almost doubled his rival's winning rate when points were finished in four shots or fewer. De Minaur had to give up his well-earned Wimbledon quarter-final shot at Djokovic last year because of a freak hip injury he sustained on the third-last point of his fourth-round win over France's Arthur Fils. In between, he soared to a career-high ranking of No.6, spent months out either side of the US Open recovering from the hip setback, reached his maiden Australian Open quarter-final, then revealed after an early Roland-Garros defeat that he was battling burnout and mental fatigue. Loading De Minaur entered this year's Wimbledon under the radar after losing his top-10 ranking and only grasscourt match this year. But he eased his way into the tournament with a friendly draw – seeing off Roberto Carballes Baena and qualifiers Arthur Cazaux and August Holmgren – and was ready for Djokovic when the opportunity arose. Half-hour of madness Very few pundits gave de Minaur any chance of causing an upset, but all bets were off after half an hour of madness. Battling wind and nerves, Djokovic inexplicably double-faulted four times and committed 11 unforced errors to drop serve twice and sink into a 4-1 hole. The lunacy continued when Djokovic crashed a forehand into the net to not only concede serve for a third time, but also the opening set 6-1. For context, the 24-time major winner's sole break in the tournament before that came while serving for the match against his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the previous round. Carlos Alcaraz (2023 final), Federer (2019 final), Sam Querrey (2016 third round) and Rafael Nadal (2011 final and 2007 semi-finals) are the only other players to ever win a set in such dominant fashion over Djokovic at Wimbledon. De Minaur could not have dreamed of a better start. He deserved at least some credit for what transpired, but the opening set was an extremely rare case of Djokovic largely beating himself. What that set did was give de Minaur a foothold in the contest – and the match truly began from that stage. Djokovic fights back Even as Djokovic flexed his muscles to instantly break de Minaur in the second set, the Australian hit back immediately for one-all on his sixth chance after a brilliant return before pouncing to knock off a volley. But de Minaur consistently had to work overtime on serve, particularly as he struggled to find his radar on his first ball, and Djokovic kicked away once more for 3-1. De Minaur was broken six times overall, hit only one ace and won a modest 56 per cent of first-serve points. That said, he broke Djokovic the same number of times, and generated more break points (19-13). Only Alcaraz has ever earned that many opportunities on Djokovic's serve at Wimbledon. Loading 'I was hurting him from the baseline and gave myself plenty of opportunities … [but] what I need to improve on is the serve,' he said. 'The serve needs to get me out of trouble, needs to help me in big moments, and needs to step up if I want to win these matches.' The period that came next was arguably de Minaur's finest of the match as he continually dug deep, absorbed pressure and found ways to hang tough with the greatest baseliner the sport has ever seen. A dipping cross-court forehand pass brought de Minaur back on level terms at three-all, but the Australian double-faulted to start his next service game and eventually conceded to love when Djokovic's drop shot landed out of his grasp. Even then, as Djokovic served to level the match, he dumped consecutive volleys into the net to leave the door ajar. Two break points followed later, but it was the second that de Minaur will bemoan. He produced a sensational return, only to miss his next shot as he hunted a cheap point. Two points later, Djokovic was a set-all and urging the Serbian fans to crank the volume. Both players fended off break points to start the third set, and the standard soared as they went blow-for-blow to four-all. But a Djokovic uprising was never far away in the clutch moments. He restricted de Minaur to 15-40, then watched as another rush of blood from the Australian gifted him the break. 'Nole' chants broke out across the stadium when de Minaur dumped a forehand into the net to hand Djokovic set point, and he dinked a forehand into the opposite service box to go two-sets-to-one up.
The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Injury rescues world No.1 from early Wimbledon exit
Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that.
