mens
nations-championship
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick insists the Springboks will not go down injured exhausted Italy lightly when clashed in Nations Championship on Saturday at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
Italy will be without Juan Ignacio Brex and Tomas Menoncello for the game, which is a significant blow for the Azzurri.
“For us, the start is very important,” Stick said. “We are competing against the northern hemisphere, but there is also excitement in the way the competition is structured now, and everyone wants to be in the final.
“There is a lot to play for against teams from the northern hemisphere and on the other hand we are still competing New Zealand to finish on top (of the Southern Hemisphere table), so the structure brings a lot of excitement and the boys are engaged.”
Stick added: “Playing Italy away in Turin, where we played last year, the crowd is crazy when it comes to energy. It’s always difficult to play them at home, so we have to make sure we’re at our best.”
“To give ourselves a chance to play in the final we need to start this tour well, so we’ll give it our all and try to make our people at home proud.”
Stick said Italy remained a dangerous group despite lacking a world-class center partnership.
“Injuries are part of the game – the unavailability of guys like Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello is a big loss for them, but they still have a quality side,” Stick said.
“Ange Capuozzo is world class, and probably one of the best outside backs in the world, and if you give him space and time, he will punish you. We have played against him many times and we understand his threats.”
“But with that said, we also have our strengths as a team, and we have to make sure we focus on our systems and get them in place.
“They’ll be motivated to play at home and even with the players they’ve lost, they still have world-class players in their backline, with guys like Monty Ioane on the wing and Paolo Garbisi at No.10, so it’s going to be a tough game.”
