Africa-Press – South-Africa. In Genoa
Springbok flanker Kwagga Smith said they need to be on their toes for the threat Italy poses when they meet them at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday.
Smith, who started at No 8 in last week’s 30-26 loss to France in Marseille, is back on the bench and felt Italy sent a veiled rugby message about their growing abilities.
Italy’s 28-27 win against Australia in Florence last week was their third on the bounce after successes against Wales on 19 March and Samoa on 5 November.
Italy’s win against Wales ended a 36-match losing streak in the Six Nations and they’ve turned that into some decent momentum.
“It doesn’t cause panic but causes more awareness for this weekend as they’re not a team that can be taken lightly,” Smith said.
“They also played well against Wales in the Six Nations, and they put up a really good performance against Australia last week.
“I think Australia was lucky to score that last try to come back into the game, so for us, it’s a wake-up call to know that it won’t be an easy game.
“We need to be on top of our game to ensure that we win here in Italy.”
The Boks go into their 16th encounter against Italy on the back of two narrow losses against Ireland (19-16) on 5 November and France last week.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber may have made some changes for Saturday’s Test, but the need for a Bok win has never been greater.
The Boks have lost two consecutive matches twice this year and having experienced defeat only once against Italy back in 2016, there’s no scope for another reversal.
Smith said they won’t have a drop in intensity just because they’re playing Italy and they need to put the lessons of the previous two weekends into place in what will be the Boks’ first Test in Genoa since 2001.
“The first two Tests of the tour were against the number one and two sides in World Rugby, so you want to go out and compete against them,” Smith said.
“Italy is the type of team where you can easily fall into a trap if you’re not ready for them and they’ll shock you at the first contact.
“We’ll grow as a team, and I think we’ve used the first two games to get better and make sure that we grow because next year is the vital year where we want to win the World Cup.”
Kick-off is at 15:00 (SA time) on Saturday.
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