Parisse: Boks will be tougher than All Blacks
The Boks have endured a torrid international season so far – they have lost five of their last six internationals and have yet to pick up a win on their end-of-year tour after a 31-31 draw against the Barbarians and a 21-37 loss to England last weekend.
However, Parisse still has a lot of respect for Allister Coetzee's team, although many people feel that Italy could bag their first-ever win against the Boks.
"Many people talk about the crisis of South Africa and the fact that tomorrow [Saturday] is a chance to beat them," said Parisse. "Not so fast…we have great respect for the Springboks.
"We will go onto the pitch to put them in difficulty and to try to take advantage of their difficult moments. But we do so knowing that it is a great team we are facing
"In some respects, particularly from the physical point of view, it will be an even tougher game than last Saturday [against the All Blacks]."
Parisse also knows that the Springboks will not be as adventurous as the All Blacks. Italy were trounced 10-68 by the world champions last weekend.
"South Africa have a more linear game than New Zealand. They are more direct, certainly less spectacular.
"They are a team that relies a lot on drives. As Conor [O'Shea] said, for 15 years now they based their game on physical power. They managed to win the World Cup in 2007 by demolishing their opponents with their pack and the boot. They will not be different tomorrow [Saturday]," Parisse added.
