Justice, in the quality of the Springboks, triumphed over injustice, in the form of incompetent match officials, in Turin as the Springboks won for the 19th time in 20 Tests against Italy.
For a second Saturday, the Boks were on the receiving end of the most outrageous straight red card.
This time, it came as early as the 11th minute, when Franco Mostert was given an early shower for what was deemed intentional head contact with Italy’s flyhalf Paulo Garbisi, who, like France’s Thomas Ramos in Paris a week ago, rose Lazarus-style.
Garbisi, like Ramos a week ago, was apparently so hurt by the head contact that no match official felt it necessary to send him for an HIA head test.
The game currently is a shambles, and while World Rugby does everything to eliminate the scrum to speed up the game, they support two- to five-minute stoppages to determine a card; this when they have a bunker review system in place.
Flanker Marco van Staden added to the Boks’ adversity when he was yellow-carded in the second half, and for a period the Boks were playing 13 on 15 and still winning.
It is remarkable to think that Italy, with a one-player advantage for 60-plus minutes, never led the Boks once in 81 minutes.
The Boks won 32-14, after leading 10-3 at halftime.
It was an absorbing contest because of the uncontrollables the Boks had to counter to win, most notably the match officials, be it the referee, his assistants, or the Television Match Official.
Through the turmoil of the opening 30 minutes, the master tactician Rassie Erasmus was in full flow. The Boks coach is never shy when it comes to immediately acting and influencing the flow of the match.
He doesn’t seek out hindsight. He acted immediately, and within 25 minutes he had sacrificed tighthead prop Zach Porthen, flank BJ Dixon, loosehead prop Boan Venter, and right wing Edwill van der Merwe to accommodate more balance in his 14-strong line-up.
Captain Siya Kolisi was subbed on at 45 minutes, lock Jean Kleyn was gone by 50 minutes, and the only two replacements Erasmus left till the final quarter were the backline halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.
Erasmus, as head coach and tactician, produced a thesis in coaching rugby substitutions, while his Rainbow Warriors took the Italians to the gutters, wore them down, and then finished with a spectacular dance routine, scoring two tries in the final 10 minutes to finish them off.
These Boks have a spirit that can’t be bought or manufactured. It is inherent because of an environment that has been nurtured over the past nine years.
It is not uncommon for the Boks to win against Italy in Italy, but it is not a given for any team to win playing 14 on 15 for 50 minutes and 13 on 15 for 10 minutes.
This team, without 10 of their first-choice lineup from Paris, did this in Turin, home of Italian soccer giants Juventus.
Flanker Kwagga Smith and scrumhalf Grant Williams were influential as substitutes, while Player of the Match Damian Willemse was all calm throughout at fullback.
The Boks defence was brutal and effective; and in the opening half they tackled at 96%, despite being a player short for 30 of the 41 minutes.
Italy scored a beauty through Toulouse fullback Ange Capuozzo in the 65th minute; the score fashioned through a fabulous inside ball close to the Boks tryline.
For all of Italy’s one-player advantage —match officials wearing blue — territory, and possession, they conceded four tries to the world champions and the best team in the world.
If ever a scoreline did an injustice to a Boks win, it was in Turin.
The record books will show 32-14 but those who watched will know it was far more emphatic, given the mountain the Boks had to scale through the uncontrollables in Turin.
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