Following the Springboks’ 66-7 triumph over Italy in their Nations Championship Test, here are our winners and losers from Saturday’s encounter at the Allianz Stadium.
Winners
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
From the outset, the Springboks fly-half had a spring in his step and after kicking an early penalty he took the fight to the home side as he showed off his vast array of skills which created several try-scoring opportunities for the world champions.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu hit the ground running in Turin as he delivered a 100 per cent goal-kicking performance and apart from that penalty, he also slotted nine conversions while showing his class on attack as he crossed for his team’s first try in the eighth minute.
Aside from that, the young playmaker also showed his class when he delivered a well-weighted 50/22 kick from close to his 22-metre line and the ball went into touch close to Italy‘s try-line.
Morne van den Berg
Not far behind Feinberg-Mngomezulu was his half-back partner Van den Berg, who continued with his excellent form from earlier in the year for the world champions and produced another top class all-round performance.
The nippy scrum-half was in the thick of the action as he kicked accurately out of hand, provided a slick service to his outside backs and controlled the tempo of the match as he varied his play intelligently.
Van den Berg‘s attacking brilliance saw him crossing for a well-taken try during the opening half and he continued to keep his side on the front foot with his superb distribution skills as the match progressed. The Boks’ rising star’s efforts were rewarded with the official player-of-the-match award after the game.
Ethan Hooker
The young utility back came into the Springboks’ run-on side as a replacement for the great Cheslin Kolbe during the latter part of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks and impressed with a solid performance in the final Test in Baltimore.
Hooker continued where he left off in that match against the Azzurri as he shone on either side of the ball and led the way in the aerial battle for the world champions where he won several duels.
He eventually finished with a match-high 92 metres gained and just like the corresponding fixture at the same venue last year, he crossed for a deserved try after the full-time hooter.
Malcolm Marx
While the Springboks’ entire forward pack delivered another excellent performance which set a superb platform for their backs, Marx deserves special praise as he showed why he is the current World Rugby Player of the Year.
The Bulls-bound hooker was only on the field for 46 minutes but was hugely influential during that period as he shone in the execution of his core duties with his lineout throw-ins particularly impressive and he delivered a 100 per cent return in that department.
Marx also made a big impact with ball in hand and crossed for two tries to extend his record to 31 five-pointers which is the most by any South African forward at international level.
Rassie Erasmus
Although the Azzurri are regarded as the Springboks’ weakest opponents on their European tour – with France and Ireland still lying in wait – Erasmus opted to field a strong matchday squad with the bulk of his regular first-choice players named in the starting line-up and that decision certainly paid off.
From the outset, the world champions showed that they meant business as they dominated most facets of play and they delivered a near-perfect performance in the first half which saw them holding a 45-0 lead at the interval.
After half-time, Italy were more competitive, but the damage was done and Erasmus rang the changes with several of his star players replaced.
Alessandro Ortombina
As the scoreline suggests, there were few positives for the home side from this clash but rookie blindside flanker Ortombina can be proud of his efforts although that was made mostly on defence.
With the world champions running rampant with ball in hand, Ortombina did not shirk when executing his defensive duties and he really put his body on the line in that department.
And after 80 minutes, it was not surprising that the 24-year-old emerged with a match-high 20 tackles made which will certainly enhance his chances of retaining his spot in Italy’s run-on side during the rest of the Nations Championship.
Losers
Paolo Garbisi
There was a big responsibility on the Azzurri’s chief playmaker’s shoulders as he was expected to give his team direction but, unfortunately, he failed miserably with that task.
Although he received scrappy ball from his forwards, Garbisi failed to influence proceedings and early in the second half he had an embarrassing moment when he failed to put the ball out from a routine kick for touch after Italy were awarded a penalty on the Boks’ 22-metre line.
It was not a surprise when he was eventually replaced after 61 minutes with Tommaso Allan coming on to take his place.
Giacomo Nicotera
The Azzurri were without several of their first-choice players which meant there was more pressure on the more experienced players in their run-on side for this clash with Stade Francais hooker Nicotera being one of those as the team’s captain.
However, this will not be a match which he will remember fondly as he had little influence on proceedings. The 30-year-old failed to find his jumpers in the lineouts on a couple of occasions and made little impact on attack and defence.
Despite being his side’s skipper, Nicotera was only on the field for 48 minutes of this match before being replaced by Tommaso Di Bartolomeo.
Lorenzo Cannone
Another one of the home side’s experienced players of whom much was expected but he failed to deliver the goods.
The hard running number eight is usually one of the players who gives the Azzurri good momentum with ball in hand but that wasn’t the case in this match as he was kept in check by the visitors’ defence.
Although he put in a solid defensive display, as he made 10 hits, he only gained eight attacking metres and was eventually replaced by Ross Vintcent after 54 minutes.
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Salmaan Moerat
The La Rochelle second-row was a surprise inclusion in the Springboks’ starting line-up as he was the only player in the run-on side who was not involved in their recent 3-1 series triumph against the All Blacks.
Moerat’s selection for the Boks usually receives plenty of criticism on social media which led to Erasmus launching a passionate defence of the 28-year-old when he announced his team earlier in the week.
That meant Moerat’s call-up for this encounter presented him with the perfect opportunity to justify his selection and, in doing so, silence his critics as well but that did not happen as he was a late withdrawal in the build-up to this game due to a back injury. That meant Lood de Jager was promoted to the run-on side while Franco Mostert was added to the replacements bench.
Source: www.planetrugby.com
