Boks must tighten leaky defence, warns Kriel
Though South Africa won the opening Test 42-24 against the Azzurri in Mbombela, Kriel says the Boks must fix key aspects of their game ahead of a rematch at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (5.10pm).
The Italians, ranked a lowly 10th in the world, came out swinging against the world champions with a tenacious second-half display that gave the Boks plenty of food for thought ahead of the Bay clash.
When SA raced into a 28-3 halftime lead at Loftus, the home fans expected the floodgates to open in the second period. Italy, however, had other ideas and fought like warriors to hold the star-studded Boks at bay.
We've missed Damian Willemse in a Bok jersey 🇿🇦✨
📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/h2B2sQD1UE
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 5, 2025
'There's a lot of things for us to work on ahead of the Test in Gqeberha,' Kriel said. 'We drive extremely high standards in the squad.
'The whole rugby world were writing them off and we certainly weren't. We know the Italians are an extremely passionate nation and they pitched up at Loftus and were very energetic.
'That energy showed in their play and we didn't get exactly what we wanted with the quick ball on attack.
'In defence, we are not happy with the three tries against us. In the second half, they defended like their lives depended on it.
'So we are happy with the win but a big Test match awaits us at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.'
Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk said there would be disappointment in their squad regarding their showing in Tshwane.
'There was a lot of good stuff and bad things we can work on,' he said. 'Credit to Italy, they really made it hard for us, especially at the breakdown.
'We couldn't get that momentum going. I thought their forwards were phenomenal. That is definitely something we must look into in the week and make sure we fix it before the next Test.'
Bok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, who scored two tries, said his team could have delivered a much stronger display.
'It was special to be named man of the match and to score my first Test try, but for me, the most important thing is always to serve the team to the best of my ability,' he said.
'We know we could have performed much better on the day, though we always expected it to be an arm wrestle, especially if one looks at some of Italy's results in the last two seasons and the way they started the Six Nations.
Bok coach Erasmus hints at changes for second Test against Italy
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'That said, it was exactly the match we needed to measure where we are compared to where we want to and need to be, so we took valuable lessons from the game.
'Everyone now knows what Italy can do, and I don't think the public will underestimate them again this week.
'But at the same time, we also know we were off the pace and that we need a massive step-up in all areas of our game.
'We let ourselves down, and leaked three tries, which is not good enough, so we will go back to the drawing board and do everything we can to rectify the areas we need to improve on.
'Italy and our next opponent, Georgia, are both physical and passionate teams, and it is vital for us to get back on track.'
The Boks are expected to name their side on Tuesday.
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