A wary Springbok side will not make the mistake of letting their guard down against a passionate Italian team who have been labelled underdogs ahead of Saturday’s clash in Turin, loose forward Marco van Staden says.
After beating Japan and France in the opening games, the Boks are bidding to maintain their unbeaten European tour record against an Italian team still buzzing after beating Australia last week.
Though the Azzurri may be perceived as a weaker team compared to France, Van Staden says the Boks will be on high alert at the Allianz Stadium (kickoff 2.40pm SA time).
“Italy are a side with a lot of passion, and they play with intensity,” Van Staden said.
“It will be even more so this weekend with their home crowd behind them.
“That has a big influence on the way they pitch up on the field.
“They did very well against us in South Africa and placed us under pressure in some areas, so we know they are going to go out there with a lot of passion and intensity.
“It was a great game over the weekend against France and the intensity the players showed was fantastic.
“As a team we all buy into the plans and prepare as well as possible for each game, even if it’s to help the other players, so that intensity is definitely valuable for us.
“What we did in the training pitch ahead of the France game helped us maintain a high level of intensity.
“The guys who play on a Saturday, and also those that don’t, all help one another to prepare in the best possible manner.
Asked if Andre Esterhuizen is now a genuine loose forward after his display against France, Van Staden said: “I think Andre is a genuine forward now.
“Against Japan at Wembley he scored with the forwards around the corner and now he scored off a maul against France.
“We just have to get his ears ugly and then Andre be a proper forward.”
Bok attack coach Tony Brown said lessons had been learned despite the Bok’s impressive win over France.
“We always want to have 15 men on the field, so we have to try to make sure that we don’t have any of those moments where we lose a player,” he said.
“But I have to commend the team for the effort and physicality they played with last week.
“We have a lot of sore bodies, so recovery has been massive for us, but we have no injury concerns,
“Italy are a physical side, and they play differently to France.
“They pose other challenges with ball in hand, and they are also coached very much like an Argentinean team, who like to throw the ball around.
“Their game has improved in the last couple of years, and they are a dangerous side, so we have to make sure we understand their threats and prepare as well as we can for them.
“They were outstanding against Australia.
“They pose a massive threat at the breakdown because they won numerous turnovers on Australian ball.
“But they are also very dangerous when they get space and opportunities, so we are not taking them lightly, and we’ll prepare accordingly.
“If our preparation is off, there’s no doubt they are going to be very dangerous on Saturday.”
Bok lock Lood de Jager will miss the remainder of his team’s European tour after receiving a four-match ban after his red card against France, an independent disciplinary committee said on Tuesday.
De Jager was sent off in the first half for a no-arms tackle on French full-back Thomas Ramos during SA’s win on Saturday.
The committee said they had upheld the red card, and based on World Rugby’s sanctioning provisions, had initially determined that a six-match ban was appropriate.
However, they reduced the sanction by two weeks.
He is set to miss Tests against Italy, Ireland and Wales, as well as a Japan League One game for his club, the Wild Knights.
De Jager will be allowed to apply to participate in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final match of his sanction.
The Herald
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