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Stephen Nell
East London – Italy have accused South Africa of illegal scrumming ahead of Saturday’s second Test at the Buffalo City Stadium in East London.
The scrums were actually among the few areas with which the South Africans were satisfied following their unimpressive 29-13 victory, but if the Italians are to be believed, the Boks were too quick to pat themselves on the back.
“We had problems in the scrums, but it was a result of the uncertainty of the referee’s scrum management. South Africa’s tighthead prop (Jannie du Plessis) sometimes scrummed at an angle and not straight as the laws dictate,” said Italy forwards coach Carlo Orlandi.
English referee Andrew Small handled a Test for the first time in Witbank and there was also unhappiness with his performance in the Bok camp.
Keith Brown, of New Zealand, will referee Saturday’s second Test. He is also inexperienced and according to scrum.com has handled just three Tests – Fiji against Samoa, Samoa against Papua New Guinea and Japan against Canada.
Whether Brown will take any notice of Orlandi’s statements remains to be seen.
It may well motivate the Boks to give the Azzurri a proper hiding this time.
Du Plessis has given his Test career renewed impetus with some good performances. The same applies to Bok loosehead prop Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Italian tighthead prop Martin Castrogiovanni was sent to a hospital on Monday to determine the seriousness of his back injury.
Castrogiovanni had to leave the field after only 19 minutes in Witbank and it’s unlikely that he’ll play this weekend.
Italy also know the Boks are determined to improve on the weekend’s unconvincing display.
“We read in the newspaper that South Africa’s coach is not happy with their performance, so realise it will be harder than before,” said Orlandi.
Not that the visitors are taking defeat for granted.
“We are realistic. It’s very difficult for Italy to beat South Africa, New Zealand or Australia,” said Orlandi.
“The players always run on the field with the goal of winning. It’s very difficult, but we always try.”
He emphasised that the Italian players need to limit their errors.
“If you make a mistake against a big team, it’s seven points against you.”
East London – Italy have accused South Africa of illegal scrumming ahead of Saturday’s second Test at the Buffalo City Stadium in East London.
The scrums were actually among the few areas with which the South Africans were satisfied following their unimpressive 29-13 victory, but if the Italians are to be believed, the Boks were too quick to pat themselves on the back.
“We had problems in the scrums, but it was a result of the uncertainty of the referee’s scrum management. South Africa’s tighthead prop (Jannie du Plessis) sometimes scrummed at an angle and not straight as the laws dictate,” said Italy forwards coach Carlo Orlandi.
English referee Andrew Small handled a Test for the first time in Witbank and there was also unhappiness with his performance in the Bok camp.
Keith Brown, of New Zealand, will referee Saturday’s second Test. He is also inexperienced and according to scrum.com has handled just three Tests – Fiji against Samoa, Samoa against Papua New Guinea and Japan against Canada.
Whether Brown will take any notice of Orlandi’s statements remains to be seen.
It may well motivate the Boks to give the Azzurri a proper hiding this time.
Du Plessis has given his Test career renewed impetus with some good performances. The same applies to Bok loosehead prop Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Italian tighthead prop Martin Castrogiovanni was sent to a hospital on Monday to determine the seriousness of his back injury.
Castrogiovanni had to leave the field after only 19 minutes in Witbank and it’s unlikely that he’ll play this weekend.
Italy also know the Boks are determined to improve on the weekend’s unconvincing display.
“We read in the newspaper that South Africa’s coach is not happy with their performance, so realise it will be harder than before,” said Orlandi.
Not that the visitors are taking defeat for granted.
“We are realistic. It’s very difficult for Italy to beat South Africa, New Zealand or Australia,” said Orlandi.
“The players always run on the field with the goal of winning. It’s very difficult, but we always try.”
He emphasised that the Italian players need to limit their errors.
“If you make a mistake against a big team, it’s seven points against you.”
