South Africa Rout Italy 66-7 With Nine Tries as Erasmus Rebuild Pays Off
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus believes his policy of gradually introducing new players into the Springbok squad is paying dividends after a thumping 66-7 victory over Italy in a Nations Championship clash in Turin on Saturday, November 7.
The visitors scored nine tries against an injury-hit Italy side and led 45-0 at halftime in a dominant opening 40 minutes, though some sloppiness crept in during the second period. "We have to play much better than this if we want to be competitive against France and Ireland in the next two weeks," Erasmus said.
Players like Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ruan Nortje, Cameron Hanekom, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Paul de Villiers are among the new faces being brought through as Erasmus grows his squad pool ahead of South Africa's 2027 Rugby World Cup defence. South Africa lost lock Salmaan Moerat ahead of the game when he pulled out with back spasms, but Erasmus said there were no other injuries from the contest.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：丹佛市政厅（资料图）。Denver City Hall. (file photo)
