WALES

Preview: South Africa v Italy

Friday 20th June 2008

Bok lock: Victor Matfield will lead South Africa in his 70th game in the green and gold

Peter de Villiers' honeymoon as the new Springbok coach will come to an end on Saturday when his team rack up a third consecutive victory of the season over Italy at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.

Forgive me for being a realist, but in the past two weeks South Africa breezed past Wales, and there is no reason why that shouldn't be the case again against the visiting Italians.

However, De Villiers will be well aware that in two weeks' time, the scenario will be vastly different when the Boks meet the All Blacks in the first of two back-to-back encounters in New Zealand.

But first things first.

While Italy cannot be expected to match the world champions in the own backyard, their inherent spirit should be apparent.

They put a lot of passion into their game and if the Azzurri want the Springboks to respect them as a rugby nation, Italy must match South Africa in the combat - individually and as a team.

But the fact that Italy have been denied the services of stalwarts such as Italy captain Sergio Parisse (Top 14 duty), Marco Bortolami (injured), Clermont centre Gonzalo Canale along with the Stade Fran�ais pair of Bergamasco brothers Mauro and Mirco (all Top 14 duty), means that coach Nick Mallett's Italian job has been made so much harder.

There was also no place for Italy's best three props, Martin Castrogiovanni of Leicester, Andrea Lo Cicero of Racing Metro (both injured) and Salvatore Perugini of Toulouse (Top 14 duty) forcing Mallett to pick a youthful squad.

There's no point denying it, it's an extremely difficult assignment with an upset highly unlikely, but Mallett's ambition is nevertheless very clear.

While the former Stade Fran�ais and Springbok coach will have to make do without at least eight or nine first choice players, Mallett will take advantage of this international window to experiment.

The Italy coaching staff will evaluate some young players and give them the opportunity to test themselves against the best side in the world, followed by Argentina a week later.

When the squad returns to Rome, and if the Azzurri management have found one or two new players who can hack it on the international stage in the Italy jersey - particularly in the backs - last year's World Cup quarter-finalists can consider the tour of South Africa and Argentina a success.

The challenge ahead of the Italian team is to keep their focus, never let their heads drop and to produce their best efforts throughout the match, regardless of the score.

While South Africa should avoid the risk of complacency, it's fair to say the Italians aren't going to offer much in the way of resistance and the match has presented the perfect opportunity for coach De Villiers' fringe players to get some game time.

This would have been in De Villiers' pre-season plan all along. Nothing new can be learned, but a winning momentum can certainly be gained heading into the Tri-Nations series.

But as far as momentum goes in a certain combination - South Africa may be in a spot of bother.

By giving Butch James a well-earned rest this weekend, De Villiers fields his third different halfback pairing in as many weeks.

While there's nothing wrong with trying a few new combinations, South Africa's coaching staff would be better off to strengthen the key partnership that is at the moment a tad undercooked.

De Villiers has talked about developing depth ahead of the 2011 World Cup, but there has got to be a balance. Winning the Tri-Nations is the major objective of 2008, the next being the beating of the British and Irish Lions in 2009.

Saturday's game against Italy should be used to strengthen the greater squad's experience, but these Tests also need to function as preparation for the bigger games that take place in the immediate future.

And what of the Springboks' current form?

After a 43-17 win over Wales in Bloemfontein and a 37-21 victory in Pretoria, the question remains just how good Peter de Villiers' side is. Walloping Wales is no cause for celebration after injuries to six or seven of their key players cut the Six Nations champs' resources short.

De Villiers, against Wales in Pretoria, opted for romance and exhibition rugby as a game-plan and all he did was help create the illusion that in a week Wales had turned from dwarfs to giants.

A better team would have embarrassed and beaten South Africa in Pretoria. New Zealand and Australia, in their current rebuilding state, would have won by 20 points. That's the reality De Villiers has to take from the folly of last week because ignorance and arrogance determined an approach that showed a disregard for the values of Test rugby.

The Springboks did not have the match conditioning to play the expansive game demanded of them by their coach in Pretoria and that is why Wales were in the match on the hour.

Ordinarily, with a bit more structure and common sense from the Springboks, the match would have been won in the first 20 minutes instead of the last 20 minutes.

Experimentation and freedom of expression are to be applauded, but what the rugby public saw in the first 40 minutes in Pretoria was more the work of suicide bombers than freedom fighters. If the analogy is dramatic then so is De Villiers' obsession to change 100 years of Springbok playing culture in a fortnight.

To borrow from soccer, the Springboks are Germany and will never be Brazil.

Give South Africa their due. They clouted Wales. But make no mistake, it was a warm-up and Italy will be no different. The answers to De Villiers' methods will only arrive following the first Test Down Under.

Until then, the true strength of De Villiers' Bok team remains a mystery and against a depleted Italy squad even Sherlock Holmes would have a tough time figuring this one out.

Players to watch:

For South Africa: With Butch James wrapped in cotton wool this weekend, Francois Steyn has an opportunity to strut his stuff in the number ten jersey and perhaps make Peter De Villiers think twice the next time he pencils in his starting line-up for the upcoming Tri-Nations. The World Cup-winning inside centre was the one minor surprise sprung by the Springbok coach when he named his team on Thursday. Steyn, who has made it clear that he wants to be considered as a fly-half and not a utility back, gets the nod because of his obvious skills. His trademark ability to knock over a drop-goal from absolutely anywhere on the park makes opposition think twice before kicking out of hand, while his monster penalty attempts can often be seen taken as far out as 55 metres... and converted! Of course penalty kicks may be few and far between on Saturday, in which case the 21-year old will also need to bring his other talents to the party and show his sometimes erratic decision-making - that often leaves Bok fans gasping - is a thing of the past.

For Italy: Mallett has called on uncapped Aussie-born Luke McLean to make his Test debut in the crucial position of fly-half. The 20-year-old McLean is one of four debutants in the Italian matchday 22 that will face the Boks. But here's the real twist - he hasn't even played fly-half in club rugby! McLean played a few matches for Perth Spirit in the Australia Rugby Championship last year and presently plies his trade with Italian First Division club Calvisano. But in both leagues he played at full-back. Mallett will no doubt want to see if his gamble can come out with a little bit of credibility, and witness first hand if the rookie can defend against the world's best. McLean, who has an Italian mother, will have to show that he has a good head on his shoulders, can organise a back-line and not get too flustered. He's got the physicality to be there, he's 93kg, is quick and has a very good left foot.

Head to head: Victor Matfield and Andries Bekker v Carlo Antonio Del Fava and Santiago Dellape. The Italian front row is the backbone of the side - they relish the tight phases, they love to maul and it's going to be a big battle for South Africa's heavyweights up front. However Italy's performance against the Springbok forward pack would depend very much on how well the Italian duo of Del Fava and Dellape get on against their renowned opponents in the line-out. There's no better lock pairing to disrupt opposition line-outs than Matfield, who made his debut against Italy in 2001, and any lock he plays with - in this case Bakkies Botha. The Italian line-out went quite well in the Six Nations, but even Italy's coach admits that the northern hemisphere tournament is not at the same level as southern hemisphere international rugby. If sides like Australia and England struggle against Matfield and company, then Italy are in big trouble.

Previous results:

2001: South Africa won 54-26 in Genoa
2001: South Africa won 60-14 at Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
1999: South Africa won 101-0 at Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1999: South Africa won 74-3 at Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
1997: South Africa won 62-31 in Bologna
1995: South Africa won 40-21 at Olympic Stadium, Rome

Prediction: It may be a long day at the office for the touring Italians and with rain expected to fall from the Cape skies, the result will be as miserable for them as the weather. Anticipate a physical, proud challenge from the depleted Italians, and it should not be a complete surprise if this game is some way from being the one-sided encounter most are anticipating. That the Boks will win though is beyond doubt. South Africa to win by 30 points or more.

The teams:

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Francois Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ Van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawaria.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Joe Van Niekerk, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Ruan Pienaar.

Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Jaco Erasmus, 19 Tommaso Reato, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan.

Date: Saturday, June 21
Venue: Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

By Dave Morris