The Springboks certainly won’t be short on motivation when they take on Italy in their second Test in Gqeberha on Saturday, 12 July.
While the Boks secured a 42-24 win in Pretoria in their first Test of the season against the Azzurri, there is much to improve on by their standards.
While there were players who were on fire, there were also those whose performances wouldn’t exactly be a feature in their career highlights reel.
So, with another clash against the spirited Italians coming up, here are three players to watch (for different reasons).
The Springbok Chasing The Perfect Milestone: Willie Le Roux
The Springbok fullback will become the eighth South African to earn 100 Test caps on Saturday.
Needless to say, it’s a remarkable feat, so it goes without saying that he’d want to have a blinder come the weekend. And it’s certainly something he can do.
When he’s good, he’s great. And if he fires in his full-circle moment, it will be an unforgettable occasion.
Le Roux made his Test debut against Italy in Durban in 2013, and his milestone will see him join Eben Etzebeth, Jean de Villiers, Tendai Mtawarira, John Smit, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, and Percy Montgomery in an elite group as Bok centurions.
The Springbok Aiming To Serve Another Reminder of his Quality: Manie Libbok
The flyhalf was in top form against the Barbarians, nailing all five of his attempts off the tee in extremely testing conditions and sparking the Boks’ attack after coming on for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the second half.
Given all the flak he’s copped for his goal-kicking, that area was the most inpressive factor in an overall shining personal performance in a wet and windy Cape Town.
His starting berth alongside scrumhalf Grant Williams is a mouth-watering one. And, given the wizardry magical Manie can create, we can see this as another opportunity for him to do what only he can and send out yet another reminder of his abilities (not that it’s needed at this point).
The Springbok Aiming To Justify His Call-Up: Evan Roos
The Stormers loose forward was initially omitted from the Bok squad, and that alone should fuel him when he comes off the bench.
Speculation was rife when Roos was left out of the initial 54-man squad. But, following Bulls No 8 Cameron Hanekom’s injury and Roos’ call-up, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus explained that his initial omission was “nothing personal” and that they simply opted for players in better form.
That alone should have a galvanising effect when he provides impact off the bench against the Azzurri.
Springbok Team: 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 Nortjé, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE STANDOUT PLAYERS AGAINST ITALY?
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
