Reigning Rugby World Cup champions South Africa are confident that their superior experience in the number of combined test caps and local knowledge, will be their allies when they take on Italy at the Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Springboks are staying and preparing in Johannesburg for their test match in first the international season in Pretoria. And they are keen to start their campaign on a positive note and build on last week’s win against the Barbarians.
The Springboks will once again do without the leadership of Siya Kolisi who is nursing an achilles tendon injury. However, that will not dampen the spirit in the Rassie Erasmus coached side, who are counting on a number of experienced players with leadership qualities.
Among them is lock Eben Etzebeth who will extend his record as the most capped Springbok to 132 caps when he takes to the field.
And Handre Pollard, who will start at number 10, earning his 81st cap. Pollard is well aware that the flyhalf position is not permanently his, but he says he is enjoying the competition.
“I think it is absolutely brilliant. We are blessed with so much talent in this country. As long as we keep it healthy as it is at the moment, we are good. We push each other as much as we can. The best thing I can do for them is push them every single day at training and vice-versa. We have different skills and different things we can do. We learn from each other every day, try to work on our game together, I can learn from them, they can teach me something great and then we come together as a group. So far, the competition is really healthy,” says Pollard.
The green-and-gold’s only defeat against Italy was in Florence in 2016, where the home side won by 20 points to 18. The Boks will be looking to continue with their dominance over the Azzurri on Saturday. But replacement hooker, Bongi Mbonambi, expects a massive battle upfront.
“We know they are going to come at us in front. We are never going to get too comfortable and allow them to play their game. We are going to implement our asserts, our power and our physicality unto them before they even try anything they want to do, so we are expecting a massive battle and I think they have a lot to lose,” says Mbonambi.
To neutralize any threat Italy might pose upfront on Saturday, Erasmus named a six-two split on the bench for the Loftus clash.
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