Best Boks v Italy: Wiese Back With A Bang

The back-to-back world champions were expected to lay waste to a young, understrength Azzurri outfit and while the result was never in doubt, the Boks never really found their rhythm.  

A stuttering start saw them lead just 7-0 after dominating the first quarter. Things trended in the right direction in the second 20 and swelled the lead to 28-3 at halftime. For once, the Bomb Squad were ineffective and it was the visitors who stepped up in the second half, ‘winning’ the stanza 21-14.

Our top three Springbok standouts were:

Jasper Wiese

For a player making his first appearance after a three-month stint on the sidelines due to a neck injury, Wiese showed no regard for his personal well-being and no signs of rustiness in a destructive 55-minute display.

Fearless and formidable, the 29-year-old was a relentless battering ram, smashing over the gainline time and time again. The considerable post-contact metres he made on top of that highlighted his hunger and brute strength.

For as exciting as new generation talents like Cameron Hanekom and Evan Roos are, there will always be a place for a big, physical, no-nonsense No. 8 in the Bok squad and, after the testing period he’s been through, it was great to see the dominant Wiese do his thing.

Kurt-Lee Arendse

For a game in which there were far fewer bright spots from a South African perspective than expected, Arendse produced the top two. Perfectly showcasing what a complete player he is, these highlights came on both sides of the ball.

First, the fleet-footed flyer sliced clean through the Italian defense from a slick lineout in the 30th minute to light up a Loftus crowd that was short-changed by the men in Green and Gold.

Secondly, he showed what this group of Boks is all about as he turned what most would consider a lost cause into an incredible try-saving tackle on Simone Gesi on the hour-mark. Generally, he chased hard all night and brilliantly defused a chip kick as well.

Vincent Tshituka

After impressing with a two-try effort against the Barbarians the previous week, Tshituka showed he belonged with an all-action performance in his Test debut.

It was high-energy stuff on the Highveld from the Congolese-born loose forward, who looked to have scored in the left-hand corner in the second half only for the try to be chalked off because of obstruction.

He was athletic and impactful in open play and in the lineouts, but the highlight of his performance came in the 77th minute when he saved a certain try with a vital breakdown intervention.