The Boks scored nine tries to the one by Italy.
Ruan Nortje in action for the Springboks against Italy in Turin on Saturday. Picture: Massimo Pinca/Gallo Images
The Springboks beat Italy 66-7 in a Nations Championship game in Turin on Saturday.
They scored nine tries to the one by their hosts, to kick off their four-match tour of Europe this November on a high note.
Here then is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Bok players on Saturday, out of 10.
Damian Willemse 7: Another solid performance … he scored a nice try after running a good line after a Jasper Wiese break, while his defence and line kicking was top-notch.
Kurt-Lee Arendse 7: A busy performance, without the reward. He contested excellently in the air and made some good tackles. Unfortunately, he never got many attacking chances.
Jesse Kriel 6: It was a surprisingly quiet game for the No 13 … he made a few good runs in space, but was never an attacking threat. Marshalled the defence well, tackled strongly.
Damian de Allende 7: Another powerful performance as chief backline ball-carrier, regularly getting over the gain-line. Involved in a lot of the first-half action.
Ethan Hooker 8: He made some nice, strong runs out wide and hits gaps in midfield in the second half when shifted to centre. Jumped high for balls, while he also scored a deserved try.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 8: So so good in the first half … he scored a great try in the corner, kicked a 50-22 and kicked well at goal. Was strong defensively, but made some basic handling errors as well.
Morné van den Berg 8: His up-and-unders were accurate, his chasing and tackling in defence was excellent, while he scored a good try from close range. Contested hard at breakdowns.
Jasper Wiese 7: He made a few big carries, hit a gap and made offload to Willemse, for a try, but didn’t dominate as expected, like he normally does.
Pieter-Steph du Toit 6: A quiet game by his hard-working and high standards … he made a few good tackles, and got stuck in at the rucks and mauls.
Siya Kolisi 7: He won an early breakdown penalty for his team and scored a try from a maul drive. Was on and off in the second half due to HIA issues with Paul de Villiers.
Ruan Nortjé 8: Another huge performance from one of the Boks’ most improved players. He dominated the lineouts, taking all his balls and he got stuck in all over the field. The new Mostert for work-rate.
Lood de Jager 6: Another Bok who had a relatively quiet game. He did his bit in the lineouts and made a good charge down that led to a try, while he also put in a number of tackles.
Thomas du Toit 6: He held his own in the scrums, but never got on top of his opponent. He worked hard in open play, making a few good tackles.
Malcolm Marx 8: He scored two tries from hitting his man in the lineouts and driving the maul forward. Throwing-in was top-notch. A solid, all-round performance.
Ox Nché 6: Like Du Toit, scrummed well without dominating his opponent, he worked hard and helped get his team on the front foot in the first half.
Bench:
Jan-Hendrik Wessels 6: Came on in the 46th minute and busied himself all over the field. He made carries and tackles, but also missed his jumper on occasion.
Gerhard Steenekamp 6: Also on in the 46th … made some big tackles and worked hard in the loose; he also helped get the Bok scrum on top after tough first half.
Wilco Louw 7: On early in second half, he helped get the Bok scrum in the ascendancy, worked hard all over the field and scored a try after a good run and lunge.
Franco Mostert 6: As always, he got stuck in all over the place, worked hard with his carries and tackles; showed he is far from being done with Test rugby.
Cameron Hanekom 6: He got just about a full half of rugby, but produced a quite outing, with little to no impact. He made a few carries in a poor second half by the Boks.
Paul de Villiers 7: He worked hard on and off the ball, carried well, tackled hard and scored a try, from a lineout win and drive. A busy performance and the best of the bench men.
Grant Williams 6: He was on and off and on again in the second half, played scrumhalf and wing and didn’t get much chance to show his X-factor.
Manie Libbok 7: He got just over 20 minutes from the bench; he made some nice passes and got the backs moving with his flat play. Also, few opportunities to show his full potential.
