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Italy haven’t had too many memorable days against South Africa, and there are few out there who would back the Azzurri to add to their one victory over the Springboks, either this weekend or next.
Gonzalo’s Quesada’s team face the world champions on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, and at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Porth Elizabeth the weekend after.
They go into the match following a thumping win over a limited Namibia side, who provided little opposition and conceded 11 tries in a 73-6 defeat.
Quesada’s squad contain plenty of familiar faces, albeit they aren’t at full strength, unlike South Africa who will are certainly not putting out an experimental side.
FAMILIAR FOES
World Cup winning centre Jesse Kriel will captain the side, as he did against the Barbarians last Saturday. Eben Etzebeth is vice-captain.
Damian de Allende, Handré Pollard, Jasper Wiese, Lood de Jager, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, and Ox Nché are among other familiar names
Italy wing Paolo Odogwu played his first test since Rugby World Cup 2023 against Namibia, while Louis Lynagh returns after he missed the whole of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
Flankers Sebastian Negri and Ross Vintcent both grew up in South Africa before making the move to Europe. They along with the Cannone brothers – Niccolo and Lorenzo – bring experience and will be key to Italy competing in the forwards.
“It is great to be playing in South Africa, both because of my origins and because of the quality of who we’re playing over the next two weekends,” Vintcent said.
“They’ve won the last two World Cups, so need no introduction. Playing against them in their home stadium is a unique experience.”
LOCAL LADS
Further forward in the pack, Simone Ferrari, Giacamo Nicotera, Pietro Ceccarelli, and Danilo Fischetti bring experience to the front row.
They lack seasoned reinforcements off the bench especially with South Africa’s Bomb Squad - Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Franco Mostert, and Kwagga Smith among them – licking their lips as fresh Italian meat gets tossed their way.
The mix and match continues in the backline, none more so than at halfback.
Scrum halves Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, and Stephen Varney hold 68 caps between them, but at flyhalf Giacomo Da Re holds the three caps that he and Giovanni Montemauri possess.
A lot is likely to revolve around how Tommaso Menoncello plays in the centre. On form, and with plenty of ball he is the equal to Kriel and De Allende. How likely that is over the next fortnight is debatable.
“We are happy with the result against Namibia, we played really well, but it is in the past,” Vintcent added. “Now our focus is on how we play in the next match.
“We are working on the small details, and we have to maintain our focus for all 80 minutes. There’s a lot of energy in our group, and we are well aware of the quality our opponents possess.”