Watch: Mostert sees red as Boks hold on against Italy in a thriller
For the second week in a row the Springboks had to graft hard to victory after having conceded a red card.
The Springboks had to do it with 14 men for a second consecutive test as they beat Italy in Turin. The South Africans ran in four tries for a 32-14 win to stay unbeaten on their year-end tour.
The match took a significant turn after 11 minutes when Springbok lock Franco Mostert was shown a straight red card after a tackle on Italian flyhalf Paolo Garbisi that referee James Doleman adjudged to have been dangerous.
Boks struggle for fluency
Coach Rassie Erasmus then brought on changes at regular intervals in a bid to mitigate the red card and to give the Boks parity at the scrums. The Boks, however, struggled at scrum time, conceding free kicks and penalties. The changes also robbed South Africa of fluency in their overall game.
Remarkably, the test remained scoreless for 33 minutes before Handré Pollard slotted a penalty to give the Boks the lead. But those three points were cancelled out four minutes later when Garbisi stroked one through the uprights after missing two earlier attempts.
On the stroke of halftime, the Boks scored the first try of the match courtesy of No 8 Marco van Staden who crashed over under the crossbar. Pollard converted and the teams turned to the sheds with the Boks seven points to the good.
Italy fight back
The Italians looked motivated as the second half got underway as they sought to make their numerical advantage count. It took just three minutes for Garbisi to slot another penalty. It then worsened for the Boks as they lost van Staden to a yellow card for cynical play at the breakdown. Garbisi’s resultant penalty brought Italy to within a point.
Pollard’s second penalty extended the lead to four points three minutes later.
The test sprung into life in the final quarter as both teams kept ball in hand. Bok scrumhalf Morné van den Berg dived over after a dominant scrum. Pollard added the extras.
Late tries seal the win
Five minutes later, individual brilliance from Italian fullback Ange Capuozzo gave the Azzurri their first try, although Garbisi missed the conversion – his third miss of the afternoon.
Eight minutes from full-time, centre Canan Moodie beat his man on the outside and fed Grant Williams with a pin-point inside pass to take the game beyond Italy. Replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok converted. The Boks had the final say as centre Ethan Hooker crashed over for his first international try after a trademark Libbok cross-kick.
The Springboks next travel to Dublin where they will face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The post 14-Man Boks find a way in Turin first appeared on SA Rugby Mag.
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