South Africa beat Italy 66–7 in Turin on Saturday, 7 November, extending their unbeaten start in the inaugural Nations Championship to four matches. The Springboks scored six tries before the break and nine in all. Fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu opened the scoring with a penalty, crossed for the first try and converted all nine South African tries.

After the opening try, South Africa scored five more before half-time to build a 45–0 lead. Hooker Malcolm Marx scored twice before the interval. Scrum-half Morne van den Berg, captain Siya Kolisi and full-back Damian Willemse also crossed in the opening half, giving the Springboks tries from players in several different parts of their formation.

Italy offered more resistance after the break. Federico Ruzza scored their only try and Tommaso Allan converted it. Wilco Louw, Paul de Villiers and Ethan Hooker crossed for South Africa in the second half. SABC News reported the final score and Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s 26-point contribution, made up of his try, penalty and nine conversions. Every South African try therefore brought the full seven points, and his opening penalty completed the team’s 66.

Erasmus on building the squad

Speaking to reporters after the match, South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus linked the performance to his practice of bringing newer players into the squad gradually. As Reuters reported, he pointed to players such as Hooker, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and De Villiers as examples of how the group had evolved since 2018. The aim is to give players enough time in the system that they can step into a Test side and understand the calls and expectations around them.

The match offered examples across the team. Marx and Kolisi helped establish the margin early, and De Villiers and Hooker were among those who extended it late. Feinberg-Mngomezulu had a different responsibility at fly-half. With the kicking duties alongside his role in directing play, he kept the scoreboard moving from the opening penalty through the final conversion.

There were limits to what Erasmus took from the score. He acknowledged that the second half brought mistakes and said the team would need to play better against France and Ireland. Italy were also missing several experienced players. The competition’s match log shows that prop Muhamed Hasa was shown a yellow card late in the first half. Marx’s second try followed while Italy were down to fourteen. A contest in which South Africa could spend the entire second half managing a large lead offered little evidence about how the same combinations might respond with the result still in doubt.

Two away Tests remain

The Nations Championship links the three July rounds to three November rounds. The competition brings together twelve national sides and will finish with a finals weekend. South Africa carried three July wins into Turin, so the result preserves their perfect record in this tournament. It sits alongside a separate run of Test rugby that included a series win against New Zealand and a defeat by Australia in Perth, as the organisers noted in their preview of the northern fixtures.

The remaining round matches take the Springboks to Paris to face France and to Dublin to play Ireland. Those opponents have home advantage and offer different tests of selection. If a match stays tight into the final quarter, the timing of substitutions, the accuracy of exit kicks and the ability to win quick possession could matter more than the number of tries a side scored the week before. That is where Erasmus will get a sharper reading on the depth he discussed in Turin.

The result also adds another chapter to a busy month for African rugby. RIM’s coverage of Kenya and Madagascar’s rugby sevens medals in Dakar follows a separate competition and a younger generation of players. For South Africa’s senior side, the next two fixtures offer a chance to see which of Saturday’s combinations Erasmus keeps together under greater pressure.

*Featured image: AI-generated conceptual illustration for RIM.*

Why this matters

For Springbok supporters across South Africa and the diaspora, Turin showed how experienced internationals and newer players can share responsibility in a Test. France and Ireland will give a clearer picture of which combinations can handle a close away match. Those minutes matter as South Africa builds the pool of players available for its 2027 World Cup defence.

Sources

Topics: Springboks · South Africa rugby · Nations Championship · Italy rugby · Rassie Erasmus · Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

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