Van den Berg strikes twice as Boks beat Italy
It was a game of two halves with the Springboks using their scrum power to score four tries and build a 28-3 lead by half-time in front of a near-capacity crowd at the 52,000-capacity Loftus Versfeld.
But much-improved Italy outscored the record four-time World Cup winners by three tries to two in the second half despite fielding an experimental team with numerous first choices remaining in Europe.
Victory continued the 100 percent record of South Africa when hosting Italy, but it was the second smallest winning margin in eight Tests since 1999.
The other Springbok try scorers were captain and centre Jesse Kriel, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, replacement prop Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden.
It was a special moment for tighthead Koch when he barged over as he notched his first try for South Africa while winning his 62nd cap.
The outstanding try came from Arendse, who raced through the Italian defence from midfield to score after Test debutant Vincent Tshituka won a lineout.
Veteran fly-half Handre Pollard slotted all six conversions, raising his total for the Springboks to 784 points in 81 Tests.
Flanker Manuel Zuliani, replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff on debut and captain and lock Niccolo Cannone scored tries for the Azzurri.
Fly-half Giacomo Da Re kicked three conversions and a penalty for Italy, whose starting line-up included only five of the team beaten by Ireland in their last 2025 Six Nations Championship match.
When Da Re converted the Cannone try with 11 minutes remaining, there were only 11 points between the teams, raising the possibility of a stunning victory for the visitors.
But the Springboks put the outcome beyond doubt on 74 minutes when Van Staden powered his way over the line and Pollard maintained his perfect record from the kicking tee.
The second Test is scheduled for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha next Saturday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
9 minutes ago
- eNCA
Last-gasp try saves 'massively relieved' Australia against Fiji
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admitted he was "massively relieved" after skipper Harry Wilson scored a last-gasp try to deny a valiant Fiji 21-18, avoiding an embarrassing defeat ahead of the British and Irish Lions series. In their lone game before facing Andy Farrell's tourists, Australia blew a 14-0 lead in front of a full house in Newcastle, north of Sydney, before Wilson saved their blushes with a minute to go. It helped erase memories of their stunning 22-15 upset by Fiji during a torturous 2023 World Cup campaign when led by Eddie Jones -- their first defeat to the Pacific Islanders in 69 years. But it will have done nothing to strike fear into the Lions, with Australia guilty of missed chances and silly mistakes, denied two tries for forward passes. "Massively relieved, because you want to get a result," said Schmidt. "But disappointed with the performance and I know the players will be looking for more out of themselves, and that has to happen in a very short space of time. "Thirteen days' time, we won't be afforded the number of errors that Fiji gave us," he added, referring to the first Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19. "They (Fiji) were superb. Some of the players we knew would be elusive and quick and powerful, and they turned up and were all those things." Fiji skipper Tevita Ikanivere said he was "very proud of my brothers". "It's a disappointing loss, losing in the last minute, but thankful to them for giving the all today," he added. "We lacked intelligence in the first half, but I think we made up for it in the second half."
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Erasmus to rethinks Springbok selections after unconvincing win over Italy
The Springboks' Vincent Tshituka, on debut, bust through the tackles of Italy during the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Photo: Timothy Bernard Independent Media Image: Timothy Bernard Independent Media The Springboks' lacklustre performance in the first Test against Italy will have repercussions, with coach Rassie Erasmus stating that he will revisit his planned selection for this week's second Test in Gqeberha. The Boks went into the Pretoria season-opener with high expectations after a promising warm-up against the Barbarians, but their 42-24 win was flawed. The Italians had left a core of stars at home, yet troubled the Boks in the line-outs and breakdowns, and were arguably the better side in the second half. Last week, Erasmus said he had internally informed the players which of them would feature at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. But after several disappointing individual performances, the coach says he will revisit those plans. 'I guess it's a positive that we scored six tries, but we're frustrated,' the coach said. 'The buck stops with us coaches because we obviously did not prepare the guys well enough. I didn't see this performance coming. It is fixable, but it's definitely frustrating.' 'Internally, we've announced the 13 or 14 players that will definitely get a run next week, and that we'd build the bench or starting line-up around those guys,' he added. 'We won't discard those players, but some of them might move to the bench. Some of the real standout players who featured today might start again. 'The make-up of the team may change to handle the physicality that Italy threw at us. You'd think a team that made 120 tackles in the first half would break in the second half, but they did the opposite. 'Italy are a fit and passionate side and we have to make sure that the team we put out for the second Test is not just one that can go 50 or 60 minutes — it must be a team that can go 80 minutes.' The Boks started the game strongly and it seemed a question of time before the Italians would collapse. At half-time, the Boks would have spoken about opening the taps and putting the visitors away by a big margin. That appeared to be on the cards when they scored their fifth try early in the second half, only for Italy to rally and score three tries of their own. 'It was a very frustrating game,' said Erasmus. 'We knew they were stronger than the public perception, and they manned up in every department of the game. When we were 28-3 up and we scored a try that was disallowed for obstruction, I thought we might have them — but then we lost momentum.
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Proud Italy hail their ‘grenade squad', defence against Boks
Italy's coach and captain said they were very proud of their team's performance while good-humouredly poked fun at the Springbok 'bomb squad' and praised their own. Italy were proud of their performance against the Springboks. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Tenth-ranked and understrength Italy were all smiles after their relatively narrow defeat against world champions South Africa at Loftus on Saturday. They especially praised their second-half performance and 'grenade squad' from the bench, who turned a 28–3 deficit at the break into a 35–24 deficit, before a 42–24 defeat. Italy had made seven changes to the starting XV after their comprehensive 73–6 victory over Namibia the week before, though several experienced players had already been rested after the Six Nations. Nicolò Cannone also played his first Test as captain. Still, he and coach Gonzalo Quesada told the media they were pleased with the result, while the Springboks and coach Rassie Erasmus said they were frustrated. ALSO READ: 'There is going to be disappointment': Faf and Kriel admit fans expected dominance Italy 'very proud' The Springboks boasted close to 400 more caps than the Italians in their starting line-up, with a host of double World Cup winners in their ranks. But Italy are a team on the up. They finished fifth in the Six Nations but with a scrum win percentage that was better than Ireland's and Scotland's. Since the beginning of last year, they have beaten Wales (twice), Georgia, Japan, Tonga and Scotland, drawing to France and losing to Ireland by five points and England by three. Bok stand-in captain Jesse Kriel was right to warn fans not to write them off. 'I am very happy with our performance,' Cannone said. 'It was a very tough game, a very physical game, but we prepared for this.' The captain said it was not easy playing against the Springboks in South Africa, especially as players they are familiar with in the United Rugby Championship step up their game when they put on a Springbok jersey. 'But we had a good performance. We have to prepare some little things for next week, but we are very proud.' Italy coach hails bench's performance against Springboks Coach Quesada said it was important for his side to show courage in defence with 17 players missing out on the night. 'I am so proud because the Springboks came hard at us and we showed a lot of effort and commitment. I am proud for a huge amount of reasons,' he said. Quesada praised his 'excellent jackals' for winning the breakdown battle. 'Maybe we did not believe enough in ourselves in the first half and did not try the things we prepared. So the players were made aware at half-time that they could do much better.' He good-humouredly poked fun at the Springboks' bomb squad, which was loudly announced over the speakers to huge applause from the near-capacity crowd on the night, by praising his own 'grenade squad' who had a greater impact on the game. 'The way our leaders handled the second half was really critical, and our grenade squad did really well when it came off the bench,' he smiled, as journalists laughed at the quip. 'I am very happy that we did not concede a try from the mauls because that is one of the Springboks' strengths,' he said.
