A spirited fighting display from Italy was not good enough to get past the World Champions who strolled to a 29-13 win in almost second gear.
Italy will win a great deal of credit from this game as they played confidently in a number of areas. They should not see the manner of the defeat is a blow to morale because they cannot help the fact that the Springboks are just better than most teams on the planet at the moment.
South Africa’s kicking was far superior and this is the thing, which allowed them to get in front and stay in front once they got some points on the board. Italy did themselves proud by scoring a few points to make the score line resemble something a little more towards respectable.
The Italian coach will now go back to the drawing board and look at what he must do to decrease the gap between his side and the South Africa side. Many would side keep the same team and tweak the tactics because Italy won many admirers for not letting their heads drop against a far superior team.
South Africa
South Africa were just better in all of the key areas on the pitch. They had a quality edge in terms of the players they could pick and they moved the ball far quicker. This allowed them to play out wide with pace, which leads to easy scores and tries when you are playing against a team that does not have a solid defence.
The Springboks were tactically much more sound. Although they allowed their defence to be breached on one occasion, the South African back row stayed very solid and compact, which allows defensive players to read the game.
The Springboks also had the edge in terms of power and weight on the field. This allowed them to use the pack to drive the team forwards when Italy gained some territory. They would have also used this power to get into the Italians and ruffle some feathers in order to put the better players in the Italy team off of their game.
Performances
The stand out performer from this game was Morne Steyn. Steyn got himself on the score sheet with one try as well as adding three conversion kicks and one penalty kick. This meant he was way out in front of everyone else when it came to scoring points.
He probably had one of the best games of his career and his pace and invention when going forward were two things that Italy just could not live with. It’s also clear that he’s in the best form of his life with the boot as he sent the ball between the posts on consistent occasions.
Italy would do very well to get one player to mark Steyn throughout any future matches with South Africa. These sort of influential players need to be tested and rattled early on in a game because if they are left then their greater influence will prevail.
Betting Advice
You can approach any up and coming South Africa game and bet on the World Champions with confidence. They seem able to play off their game or in second gear at the moment and still beat most sides relatively easily.
Steyn is someone you should track and keep an eye on. It is clear from this game that he has the power to score the most points and ultimately win you the most money from a variety of different bets. Have a little punt on him or wait to bet in play if you’re not sure whether he can replicate this performance.
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