Latest news with #GonzaloQuesada
Wales Online
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
'Cheating' Springboks spark fury with law-breaking kick-off tactic against Italy
'Cheating' Springboks spark fury with law-breaking kick-off tactic against Italy This was a move that got plenty of people talking over the weekend South Africa's bizarre kick-off routine got plenty of people talking at the weekend (Image: Sky Sports ) South Africa have been accused of lacking respect by Italy boss Gonzalo Quesada after a bizarre kick-off routine at the start of their their 45-0 defeat to the world champions over the weekend. The Springboks deliberately conceded a scrum with the first kick of the game against the Italians as Manie Libbok deliberately kicked the ball less than 10 metres to concede a scrum, with André Esterhuizen clearly offside for good measure. It was blown up immediately by referee Andrew Brace, who then awarded Italy a scrum on halfway. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. The cameras panned to South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus, who could be seen with a sly smile on his face, seemingly confirming that the move was pre-planned to set the tone with a dominant Springboks scrum. But while Erasmus approved, his opposite number was clearly unimpressed. "Concerning the first action, I prefer not to do any comments. Because I was really surprised, I didn't take it well. They can beat us without needing to do these kind of tactics," Quesada said. Article continues below "I think we were, these last couple of weeks, extremely respectful, with a lot of humility coming to the ground, the land of the world champions. "I don't know if it was something we did or said that created that first move but I will only say that I was really surprised." South Africa have had a reputation for their fierce scrums in recent years, so this clearly felt an attempt to gain an advantage early on, despite the fact it was Italy that would have the put in. The move nearly backfired in any case, with Italy winning a freekick from the scrum, which was then taken quickly and nearly led to a try. Against better opposition, it's a move that might well have left South Africa vulnerable, but on the day they clearly felt the possible advantages outweighed the risk. Content cannot be displayed without consent The incident sparked debate on social media, with some effectively accusing the Springboks of cheating. "Dress it up any way you like, but this is cheating," said one fan. "@WorldRugby need to make sure this sort of cynicism is eradicated from the game." Plenty of others pointed out that it would likely be given as a penalty in future due to Law 9.2, which states that a player must not "Intentionally infringe any law of the game", adding that the sanction should be a penalty rather than a scrum. There was plenty more to digest from the match itself, with South Africa running over seven tries, despite having Jasper Wiese sent off on 22 minutes for an apparent headbutt. Not that it seemed to upset South Africa's confidence to continue to try new things. In one particularly eye-catching move just before half-tome, the Springboks, in open play, lifted a man up as in the style of a lineout in a bid to create maul. It then resulted in a try as Canan Moodie went over, and Quesada was a little softer in his stance on that particular tactic. "They always have some tricky, nice strikes from lineouts," he said. "In that zone there's always something a bit special, different, innovative to surprise the opposition. They tried this maul from second phase. It's a good idea because you have to react super quickly. Article continues below "As soon as the maul is formed, if you take it down you're collapsing a maul. "I think it's part of the really good work they do to always be one step in front of the other teams concerning innovation and good ideas and they have the players for it."
The Herald
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Rassie surprises with new tricks
The first-minute ploy did not reap rewards because the Springboks had a free kick awarded against them for going early in the resulting scrum. In another startling move, the Boks set up line-out mauls in open play in a move which took the capacity 45,000 crowd and the tourists by surprise. The novelty kickoff move, however, did not go well with Italian coach Gonzalo Quesada, who said the world champions had not really needed to use the shock tactic to beat his side. 'I was really surprised and I did not take it really well,' he said. 'I don 't think they needed to do it because they can beat us without using these kinds of tactics. 'So I don ' t have a clue [about it], and for these last couple of weeks we were extremely respectful and we came with a lot of humility to the land of the world champions. 'They are deserved world champions, and the land of rugby and a land where we get inspired. 'Not from today because I came here for the first time in 1994 with my club, and I love coming to SA because when you are a rugby fan it ' s so nice to be here. 'I knew when SA prepared for this game they decided to dominate it and show they are the top-ranked team in the world. 'So I was surprised [by the kickoff] because I did not know if it was something we did or said that created that first move. 'I will only say I was really surprised because they did not need to do that to beat us or to show us anything. 'But it is part of their story and it does not concern us to analyse it.' Asked about the kickoff move, Erasmus said: 'Manie just made a mistake at the kickoff. No, I ' m just teasing. 'We wanted a scrum to get onto the game. 'The Boks found that last week Italy gave quick channel ones and the ball was out and we wanted to get into the contest scrum quickly with that [kickoff ploy]. 'There are lots of plans and things we do that do not work, which people do not know about. 'People only see the things that sometimes work. 'That was a typical example of a plan that did not work. 'SA wanted to get a scrum where we could lay down the standards. 'The previous game was a channel one in and out for them. 'We had a bit of a plan but then we got a free kick against us. 'So it was a good plan in theory, but a bad plan in practice.' On the midfield line-outs, he said: 'M any teams do different tactical moves. 'We did a maul in general play where it's just not a guy on the ground but a guy we lifted. 'We saw it being done by a Paul Roos U14 team. 'You get all the benefits from what you get in the line-out if you support a guy in general play, so it worked twice for us. 'Obviously, now people will be alert to that. 'So it's done now for a couple of games, and we are glad it worked.' The Boks managed to blank Italy despite a setback after 22 minutes when No 8 Jasper Wiese was shown a red card by referee Brace for a headbutt on Italian loose-head Danilo Fischetti. Scorers: SA 45: Tries: Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi and Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5). Italy 0. The Herald
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is South Africa v Italy on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Springboks
South Africa will be seeking an improved performance amid significant rotation as they take on Italy in the second Test in Gqeberha. The Springboks were pushed hard by their visitors in their opening encounter last weekend, with the Azzurri finishing strongly to deny the hosts their typical second-half surge. Advertisement Home coach Rassie Erasmus shuffles his side as he continues to build depth, while Gonzalo Quesada also freshens up his Italy line-up as his side seek a statement result. Can they cause a shock by beating the world champions in their own backyard? Here's everything you need to know. When is South Africa vs Italy? South Africa vs Italy is due to kick off at 4.10pm BST on Saturday 12 July at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Action, with coverage from 3.50pm BST. A live stream will be available via Sky Go and NOW. Advertisement Team news Willie le Roux becomes the eighth centurion for the Springboks as the full-back wins cap number 100 for South Africa in a side containing plenty of experience. There is still no Siya Kolisi, though, with Salmaan Moerat skippering from the second row. Andre Esterhuizen and Canan Moodie form a new-look centre partnership outside of Manie Libbok, stationed at fly half. Debuts, meanwhile, await giant tighthead Asenathi Ntlabakanye, sizeable lock Cobus Wiese and comparatively compact centre Ethan Hooker off the bench. There are five changes for Italy as Niccolo Cannone captains again following an impressive showing in Pretoria last Saturday. Full-back Mirko Belloni contrasts with his opposite number Le Roux in making his first international start on what is just his second cap, with Louis Lynagh and Jacopo Trulla comprising the rest of the back three. Advertisement Sebastian Negri is a welcome returnee on the flank in a balanced back row with Manuel Zuliani and Ross Vintcent, while there are six forwards on the bench ready to provide impact again. Line-ups South Africa XV: 1 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw; 4 Salmaan Moerat (capt.), 5 Ruan Nortje; 6 Marco van Staden, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese; 9 Grant Williams, 10 Manie Libbok; 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 13 Canan Moodie, 14 Edwill van der Merwe; 15 Willie le Roux. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos; 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker. Advertisement Italy XV: 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 3 Simone Ferrari; 4 Niccolo Cannone (capt.), 5 Andrea Zambonin; 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 8 Ross Vintcent; 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 10 Giacomo Da Re; 11 Jacopo Trulla, 12 Marco Zanon, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 14 Louis Lynagh; 15 Mirko Belloni. Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimcheff, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 David Odiase; 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Giulio Bertaccini.
IOL News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Gonzalo Quesada praises Italy's resilience despite defeat to Springboks
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada was proud of his charges shift against the Springboks on Saturday, despite losing 44-24. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada said increased self-belief and discipline were key to his team's strong second-half showing against the Springboks on Saturday — as was the contribution of the 'Grenade Squad', Italy's answer to South Africa's famed Bomb Squad. The Azzurri lost the Test match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria 42-24 but received plaudits for a gritty second-half performance against the world champions, having pulled within 11 points with 10 minutes to play. The coach said he was proud of the effort from his youthful squad. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'No one is really happy after a defeat, but I'm really proud of the team today. I have a huge number of reasons to be proud of them,' Quesada said, during his post-match media conference. 'It was a really tough week for the team with a lot of injuries, a lot of changes, and a lot of things we couldn't control that didn't go our way. But the team never lost focus.' Italy's touring squad is a young one, with several senior players rested following the Six Nations. Quesada admitted that the lack of international experience showed early on. 'In the first half, we made some mistakes because we struggled — we had so many guys with less experience playing against this Springbok squad at home. In the second half, we released a bit of pressure and it was better,' he said. 'With the ball, I think we didn't believe enough in ourselves. We didn't try enough or respect the things we had prepared. So we worked on building belief in the players, helping them realise they could do much better and match that intensity.' He added that they had also emphasised improved defensive discipline, after conceding easy penalties in the first half that gave the Boks entry into the 22. Captain Niccolò Cannone, the experienced second-rower, was praised for leading the second-half turnaround. Italy had trailed 28-3 at the break. Cannone was among the try-scorers for the visitors, alongside Manuel Zuliani and Pablo Dimcheff. 'A lot of the credit goes to the captain and the leaders for the incredible way they handled the second half. We had our 'Grenade Squad' that did pretty well,' Quesada said with a laugh. 'The team that started the second half did well. The bench all brought something, even though for some of them it was their first match for the national team. The key thing was discipline and believing a little bit more in ourselves.' The Springboks struggled in the lineouts, and the Azzurri also enjoyed success at the breakdown. Quesada was asked whether this had been a specific target going into the match. 'We knew we needed to take as much space and time away from them as we could. It was their first Test of the year, so with a bit of luck, we thought that if we disrupted their rhythm, they might not be as fluid as they usually are. 'We're a team that normally has less possession than the opposition, so we are more used to defending. We have excellent jackals in the squad, and it's something we work on regardless of the opponent,' he revealed. 'It was all about effort and commitment. We talk a lot about that. "(Sunday), we had 17 players who usually start that were not here. So, it was important to be brave and confident in each other — to commit to a big defensive game. I'm so proud of the team.' The Azzurri mentor now braces for a Springbok backlash in next weekend's second Test in Gqeberha.
Hamilton Spectator
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Springboks hold off Italy 42-24 at Loftus
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The blowout expected from world champion South Africa didn't eventuate as it scratched out a 42-24 win over Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Springboks led 28-3 at halftime, dominating every facet. But even the 'bomb squad,' which entered to a roar of acclaim, could not press home the advantage into a scoreline their fans are used to against the Azzurri. The depleted Italians stunned with a comeback that unleashed three converted tries with two more tries ruled out. They got within 11 points of South Africa until Marco van Staden crashed over with seven minutes to go. Even that didn't temper Italy's fire, with the visitor attacking in South Africa's 22 at fulltime. The Springboks averaged 49 points in their last three matches against Italy and set themselves up for another rout. They largely retained the strong side which whipped the Barbarians 54-7 last weekend. The Boks bench, alone, had more caps than Italy's entire matchday 23. Italy struggled to find 23 fit players. The warmup win over Namibia cost them two players, and a fifth player went home early during the past week when seven more frontline players were hurt in training. Coach Gonzalo Quesada reluctantly picked a 6-2 forwards-heavy bench to combat the Springboks bomb squad, gave international debuts to four players including both hookers, and named scrumhalf Alessandro Fusco as the flyhalf backup if Giacomo Da Re was injured. It looked as if it was going to script as South Africa reached 28-0 at halftime on the back of forward power. New captain Jesse Kriel was the first try-scorer after four minutes, though he appeared to be in front of the kicker, his midfield partner center Damian de Allende. Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg scored twice off the back of the scrum, one a pushover try between the posts, and winger Kurt-Lee Arendse ran great lines to another try. By halftime, Italy had made 123 exhausting tackles. But then it made South Africa start really working. Italy's first try, to flanker Manuel Zuliani, prompted the 'bomb squad' introduction of all five tight forwards. One of them, Vincent Koch, scored next. And with Handre Pollard not missing off the tee, it was 35-10. But South Africa then needed a try-saving tackle by wing Cheslin Kolbe to stop Simone Gesi, whereupon the Italian forwards used a rolling maul to get over Pablo Dimcheff, whose test debut was only a minute old. Lock Niccolo Lorenzo, inspiring in his first test as captain, had seen his younger brother Lorenzo taken off on a stretcher. Niccolo got Italy's second try by smashing Kolbe and squashing Pollard between the posts. The late Van Staden try ensured South Africa's win, but the margin was the smallest at home against Italy in 15 years. ___ AP rugby:
