By Johnathan Paoli
South Africa overcame a spirited Italian performance and a chaotic, card-filled encounter to claim a 32–14 victory at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on Saturday afternoon, pulling clear late with a flurry of second-half tries.
In conditions marked by drizzle and light winds, both sides produced an intense, often frantic game, with Italy’s ingenuity and South Africa’s physicality shaping a gripping contest from start to finish.
Italy entered the match leaning heavily on Ange Capuozzo’s counter-attacking spark, the organisational calm of captain Juan Ignacio Brex, and a hungry pack determined to slow down the world champions.
South Africa, meanwhile, banked on Handre Pollard’s composure, the edge of Damian Willemse and Kurt-Lee Arendse, and a bruising forward unit led by Siya Kolisi.
Bench power from Kwagga Smith promised to tilt the arm-wrestle and ultimately did.
Pollard kicked off proceedings, and the Springboks started brightly before the Italian team, known as the Azzurri (blue) or the “Gladiators of Rome”, struck the first psychological blow by stealing possession at the breakdown.
Early exchanges set the tone: end-to-end kicking, fierce contests at the ruck, and both sides struggling with unforced errors in damp conditions.
Italy’s first real surge came through a sublime sequence of offloads that took them into South Africa’s 22, energising the electric Turin crowd.
Moments later, the match tilted when a Springbok lock was shown a red card following a high-contact review, reducing the visitors to 14 men.
Italy responded immediately with a dominant scrum that earned them a penalty and territory inside 10 metres.
But the Boks counterpunched in typical fashion.
After absorbing waves of Italian pressure, Pollard nudged his side ahead with the first points of the match.
Though Garbisi levelled shortly before halftime, South Africa seized the momentum on the stroke of the break.
Marco van Staden bulldozed his way over the whitewash from close range and Pollard’s conversion handed the visitors a 10–3 lead at the interval.
Italy restarted the second half with purpose, Garbisi narrowing the gap to four points and the hosts repeatedly testing the Bok defensive line.
Their pressure paid off when Van Staden was sent to the sin bin for diving off his feet in the red zone, leaving South Africa briefly down to 13 men. Garbisi again kicked the points, dragging Italy within a single digit.
Yet every Italian breakthrough seemed to trigger an immediate South African reply.
Pollard restored a four-point cushion before Italy suffered a major setback of their own: Lorenzo Cannone was shown a red card after an off-field review for a high tackle, levelling player numbers once more.
With space now opening, South Africa struck decisively.
Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg darted from the base of a powerful Bok scrum to score, and Pollard’s metronomic boot extended the advantage to 11 points.
Italy roared back through Capuozzo, who sliced through the defensive line with a breathtaking counter-attacking try that reignited belief in the stands.
But Garbisi’s missed conversion, his third of the evening, kept Italy six behind.
As Italy chased the game, the Springbok bench exploded into action.
Grant Williams finished a sweeping attacking move to stretch the lead to 13 points before a pinpoint Manie Libbok cross-kick found Ethan Hooker for South Africa’s final try, sealing the win with clinical precision.
Italy battled bravely, their skill, ambition and scrum power earning admiration; but South Africa’s depth, physicality and composure under pressure ultimately made the difference.
Despite drizzle, cards and momentum swings, the world champions once again found a way to take control when it mattered most.
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