Boks have to box cleverly against 13th-ranked Azzuri

After the hammering at the hands of Ireland and the huge disappointment of not being awarded the rights to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, South Africa bounced back well to defeat France in Paris on Saturday.

It was a match pockmarked with errors and wasn't a free-flowing affair.

However, credit must be afforded to the players and coaching staff for the resilience they displayed.

The fact that the Springboks prevailed as one-point winners in front of a partisan home crowd is a wonderful outcome.

Post-match, Nick Mallett remarked that France and South Africa were "two technically poor teams". It was an error-strewn Test match, but it pitted two teams desperate to win, as opposed to looking to entertain and play free-flowing rugby.

Test rugby isn't always going to prove a spectacle, especially when the stakes are high and winning is so important.

Even though the Boks won in Paris, they are still being criticised for their style of play and error-rate.

I believe some people are never going to be satisfied with the Springbok performances and this team is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

As we saw against the All Blacks in Cape Town, the Boks boast the ability to play and they now need to harness the confidence after winning away from home for only the second time during Allister Coetzee's tenure.

On Saturday in Padova South Africa come up against Italy, who claimed a famous win in Florence last year.

Since South Africa's first-ever loss to Italy, the men in green and gold have endured much on and off-field and I don't foresee complacency creeping in.

They will relish the opportunity to set the record straight and get a good win over the Azzurri.

It's been a while since the Boks have played against slightly weaker opposition and I would like to see them put Italy under the cosh.

It's critically important the Springboks produce a resounding performance against a team that dropped the ball both literally and figuratively against Argentina last weekend.

The Boks must see this match as an opportunity to lay down a marker from a forwards point of view.

It should also be noted that the scrum has gained traction since the introduction of Wilco Louw at tighthead.

Once they have built a solid platform upfront, the Boks will then aim to unleash their backline and score a few five-pointers.

After the French Test, Brendan Venter and Johann van Graan took their leave.

Brendan will be a loss around the camp because he's a bundle of energy and positively rubs off on those around him, while Van Graan, who has taken over from Rassie Erasmus at Munster, was described by Eben Etzebeth as having "all the qualities of a very good coach".

Both men will be missed, but the team will get on with the task at hand.

The Boks will be very clear in terms of what their plan is in every area of the field.

South Africa have to be strong at set-piece and hurt Italy with their driving maul.

The 13th-ranked side in world rugby shouldn't pose too much of a threat to South Africa, but the Boks will have to box clever.

They must avoid becoming loose and scrappy and must minimise their error rate.