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Cape Town - Springbok lock Lood de Jager says they will by no means be underestimating Italy in Saturday’s Test in Florence.
The beleaguered Boks, who have lost six of 10 Tests this year, face the 13th ranked team in the world this weekend in a game they can ill afford to lose.
“There’s no such thing as an easy Test. We lost to Japan at the Word Cup, which shows you can take no team lightly,” De Jager told Netwerk24.
But according to De Jager, there’s no “fear of failure” in the team after a 37-21 reverse to England at Twickenham last weekend.
It’s been a torrid year, which has seen South Africa lose to Ireland on home soil for the first time ever, lose away to Argentina, as well as a record 57-15 home loss to the All Blacks.
But De Jager insists “there is still an aura around the Boks”.
He said their two late tries against England showed the fighting spirit in the team.
“We can take a lot of positives from the match. There is clarity regarding the game plan. We just haven’t executed it as instructed...”
The 23-year-old, who boasts 26 Test caps, sustained a leg injury against England but has given the assurance that he’ll be ready to face Italy this weekend.
