South Africa held against Italy for a 41-29 win WXV Global Series at Omero Tognon Stadium.
The Springbok women looked firmly in control after racing into a 24-12 half-time lead, but Italy mounted a brilliant second-half fightback to turn the game around.
The Blue briefly went ahead 29-27 with 20 minutes remaining before South Africa regained control late on.
Anushka Groenewald scored twice in the first half, along with Byrhandre Dolf and Maria Tshiremba, while Alyssa D’Inca and Vittoria Vecchini kept Italy within striking distance of the break.
Italy then burst out of the blocks after half-time, with D’Inca scoring his second before Vittoria captain Ostuni Minuzzi crossed to put the Azzurri ahead for the first time since the opening five minutes.
However, South Africa had the last word. Micke Gunter came off the bench to restore the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining before Logan Welman added a late try to seal an entertaining 41-29 victory.
South Africa looked dominant in the first half
What a turnaround for South Africa from last week’s 50-19 loss to Wales.
They looked fast, physical and dominant for much of the first half. Despite Italy getting off to a quick start, with Alyssa D’Inca grabbing the game’s first score, the Springbok women quickly took control and scored four tries in the opening thirty minutes.
Their tumbling was particularly effective, with whore Anushka Groenewald crashing twice at point-blank range. Byrhandre Dolf also showed off her fancy footwork to weave through the Italian defense to cross the white track and Maria Tshiremba impressively collected Libbie Janse van Rensburg’s chip for a point.
Plinio Scimana’s side tried to create some attacking phases to respond and all hope was not lost as Vitoria captain Ostuni Minuzzi brought her side to life and Vittoria Vecchini stretched out to finish off the attack.
However, at 24-12 at half-time, South Africa looked like they had built a lead that Italy would find difficult to overcome.
The Blue had other ideas.
Italy has completely changed the momentum
The second half was full of exciting rugby to watch, with your head constantly turning from one side of the pitch to the other with the speed of the momentum changing.
In the first five minutes, South Africa’s discipline appeared to be slipping. They were penalized early for an aerial challenge and then prop Yonela Ngxingolo was sent to the heating bin with an offside review for a dangerous clearance and contact with the neck.
While a yellow card remained a yellow card, the momentum seemed to begin to shift in favor of the Italians and they began to put the Springboks under constant pressure.
A monstrous move from Vitoria Ostuni Minucci saw the captain weave his way through the South African defense to gain a strong attacking position, and quick hands from Auro Muzzo to Alyssa D’Inca saw the wing cross for her second try, closing the score to just five points behind.
The visitors responded when Cilliers knocked down a light penalty, but the Italian captain crossed the try line minutes later to make it 27-26 for South Africa with 20 minutes remaining.
Kopačka’s Michele Sillari then took a beautiful penalty to put her team back in the lead 29-27 for the first time after five minutes.
It was quite a remarkable turnaround from being 24-12 down at the break, and for a while it looked as if Italy had taken complete control of the match away to South Africa.
The Springboks deserved credit for the way they responded, as Micke Gunter’s late try from the maul restored their lead before Logan Welman’s red-hour score put the result beyond doubt.
Pure brilliance by Vittorio Ostuni Minuzzi
The Italian captain was a shining light throughout the match and was one of the driving forces behind her remarkable second-half comeback.
The full-back was a constant threat with the ball in hand, really controlling the game and appearing all over the pitch. Her monstrous carry created the attacking platform for D’Inka’s second try, before she crossed over to put the Azurres within a point.
She continued to cause problems until the final stages, with one particularly impressive moment coming when she showed her pace with a carry and chip-and-chase to win Italy a scrum near the try-line with five minutes remaining.
Italy looked to have completed another remarkable comeback when Francesca Granzotto touched down late on, but the effort was ruled out after her foot was found to be in contact.
That ultimately summed up Italy’s afternoon: plenty of attacking threat and some brilliant individual moments, but not enough reward for the impressive chances they created.
The Blue now they have two test matches against USA The Lady Eagles look forward to the October phase of the WXV Global Series, where Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi and her crew will look to turn those promising offensive moments into a more complete 80-minute performance.