In a match in which referee James Doleman and his fellow officials insisted on being main characters, Franco Mostert received a straight red card for what was deemed a dangerous tackle on Paolo Garbisi in the 11th minute.
With the Azzurri having a numerical advantage and ascendency upfront, Rassie Erasmus made several brave and early substitutions. An unlucky Ben-Jason Dixon was the man sacrificed shortly after Mostert’s dismissal, with Ruan Nortje coming on to run the lineout.
Wilco Louw replaced 21-year-old Zachary Porthen in the 19th minute, Gerhard Steenekamp unseated Boan Venter in the 23rd minute, and hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen replaced Edwill van der Merwe in the 27th minute.
Adversity seemed to be around every corner for the young Bok team, with decisions continuing to go against them, yet, it was the character-filled South Africans who led 10-7 at halftime and stayed in front even after try-scorer Marco van Staden spent 10 minutes in the bin in the second half.
The introductions of RG Snyman and Kwagga Smith further fuelled the visitors, and replacement halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok struck late, the former scoring and the latter setting up Ethan Hooker for his first Test try with a signature crosskick, to cap off a second incredibly courageous victory for the back-to-back world champions in as many weeks.
Our top three Springbok standouts were:
Damian Willemse
Given the extreme pressure and, at times, pure chaos of the clash, perfection was impossible. Therefore, Willemse can be excused for a couple of high bombs he spilt in an otherwise stellar Man of the Match performance.
Returning from injury, he was thrown into a serious predicament with the Italians attacking with kicks of all kinds. However, his experience – in a side lacking in that department – came to the fore and served as an internal GPS, such was his sublime positional play.
On top of that, he was highly influential on attack. A danger man with dazzling footwork, he was lethal when joining the line, and, when he opted to counter. “Gaza” pirouetting past Louis Lynagh, the son of Wallabies great Michael, in the 53rd minute, was particularly memorable.
Again, his experience allowed him to read the game, which in turn resulted in outstanding decision-making. The chips were down, and Willemse and company rose to the occasion remarkably well.
Morne van den Berg
For a scrumhalf playing in just his fifth Test, Van den Berg had his work cut out for him amidst pandemonium and behind a struggling, outmanned pack.
“Krappies” passed the test with flying colours, staying composed and delivering with his box kicking, which allowed the chasers to retain possession on a number of occasions.
He also turned on the attacking magic he’s best known for with a super snipe from the back of a dominant scrum to score a crucial try. Again, perfection wasn’t possible under the circumstances, so his exit kicks weren’t always what he would’ve wanted them to be.
But overall, he was outstanding and will take a lot out of this game.
Canan Moodie
Another youngster who stood up well, Moodie showed his mental makeup by using an early defensive miscalculation as fuel to grow into a monster.
From that point on, he was immense and one of the Boks’ best, especially when it came to rush defence. He shut down several dicey situations with his vision and hustle and made a few dominant tackles to go with that.
The 23-year-old was brilliant in the air as well, winning two contestable kicks in awe-inspiring fashion, and absolutely went off in the latter stages of the game, including making a magnificent break and beating four defenders with a pass to put Williams in for the try that put the result out of doubt.
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