Seven-try South Africa sealed a 2-0 Test series victory over Italy with a 45-0 win in Gqeberha after innovation from Rassie Erasmus made light work of the numerical disadvantage of the 21st-minute permanent red card shown to Jasper Wiese for a headbutt.
The hosts were two tries ahead when Wiese made his premature exit, but rather than this decision unsettling them, they pressed on and had the match emphatically won after 51 minutes with a 31-0 lead.
The highlight was how tries number three and five featured the crazy sight of the Springboks setting up lineout mauls in open play, a tactic that resulted in the Italians collapsing and then conceding scores from the resulting plays off penalty advantage.
It was a genius trick that gave this fixture its highlight reel moments, a development that contrasted with last weekend’s frustrating series-opening win, where South Africa’s play left much to be desired after they had initially gone 28-3 up.
First-minute ruse
Erasmus’ reaction to seeing his team outscored 21-14 in the second half in Pretoria resulted in the alteration of 11 of the starting XV, and this breath of fresh air was seen right from the kick-off.
Rather than start the match in the usual way by sending the ball beyond the requisite 10 metres in the air, Manie Libbok purposely kicked the ball forward just a few yards into the hands of Andre Esterhuizen so that it would result in a scrum that the Italians would feed. This first-minute ruse didn’t pay off as the Springboks had a free award against them for going early.
Then, after a Wiese knock-on during an attack that ended with a pile-up over the Italian line heralded a follow-up scrum in the first minute, another free-kick decision from referee Andrew Brace was turned into a penalty, getting the Italians up out of danger and up to their 10-metre line.
South Africa’s early issues continued with centurion Willie le Roux knocking on when trying to attack, but the game’s third scrum worked out perfectly in their favour.
Grant Williams’ put-in ignited the shove that generated a penalty advantage, and this offered the incentive for Williams to ignite a move that he ended himself over the try line after the sweep from inside their own half included some excellent footwork and speed from wingers Edwill van der Merwe and Makazole Mapimpi.
The ninth-minute score went unconverted, but a flurry of penalties, mainly at the breakdown, ensured momentum stayed with the Springboks.
After deciding to scrum five metres out following a further infringement, another penalty advantage from the set-piece sparked the flourish where Libbok’s lengthy pass had Van der Merwe successfully diving in at the corner for a 16th-minute try.
Again, the extra points weren’t added from the kicking tee, and the game’s early pattern had a dramatic twist in the 21th minute.
A penalty was whistled for Italy at a maul but, as the players disengaged, a bust-up featuring Azzurri prop Danilo Fischetti and Wiese ended with referee Brace brandishing a permanent red card to the South African for a headbutt.
The man-losing decision didn’t neutralised the Springboks scrum: with midfielder Esterhuizen packing down at blindside and Marco van Staden switching to No.8, they were soon winning a set-piece penalty.
Then, with Ox Nche brought on for Thomas du Toit on 30 minutes, a penalty advantage at a halfway line scrum allowed Le Roux, the assist king, to strike again. His chip kick bounced awkwardly, putting Giulio Bertaccini off the scent and allowing Van der Merwe to boot the ball onwards and win the race to regather over the line.
Off the charts
Libbok added the conversion, and he did likewise eight minutes later after Canan Moodie scored South Africa’s fourth try. If the start to the match was bizarre with the tactic of forcing a scrum to happen straight away, the sight of a lineout happening in the middle of the pitch was off the charts.
After a ruck formed following a first-phase lineout attack, Williams made a pass from the breakdown to an airborne Ruan Nortje, who was lifted by his props as if jumping at the lineout on the side of the pitch.
It was a cunning plan, allowing the forwards to instigate a maul that was immediately collapsed and the penalty advantage was once more the cue for the South African backs to pounce, this time Moodie blasting through a defensive hole to make the line.
That made it 24-0 at the break and, unlike a week ago in Pretoria, there was no repeat of the second half lull on this occasion. Italy’s so-called ‘grenade squad’ defused the ‘bomb squad’ at Loftus, but they pulled the wrong wire here, and the margin of defeat spun out to 45 unanswered points.
A 45th-minute yellow card for Wilco Louw for shoulder to head contact on Sebastian Negri made the contest a 13-versus-15 match, but Italy spoiled this advantage by having Fischetti yellow carded three minutes later following his team’s latest breakdown infringement.
This invited the Springboks to kick to the corner. A forward pass by Le Roux denied Van Der Merwe his hat-trick, but there was no stopping Malcolm Marx getting over on 51 minutes following the formation of another open play lineout lift, instigating a maul that couldn’t be stopped.
Libbok’s conversion stretched the lead to 31 points, but the game then became very scrappy, and it took a penalty advantage emanating from a lineout maul seven minutes from time to get the Springboks going again.
Some slick backline ending with Mapimpi scoring, and the rout was completed when Jan-Hendrik Wessels reached out in the final play to ground. Libbok converted both tries.
The teams
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker
Italy: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolo Cannone (c), 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimcheff, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 David Odiase, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Giulio Bertaccini
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Hollie Davidson (SRU)
TMO: Tual Training (FFR)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)