Player Ratings: Italy

OPINION: Italy didn’t have the firepower to trouble the Springboks in their second Test match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

After a plucky performance in Pretoria last week, the Italians failed to score any points on their way to a disappointing 0-45 defeat in Gqeberha.

See below for the Player Ratings:

15 Mirko Belloni
Opportunities were few and far between for the fullback. His highlight of the game came in the 61st minute when he did well to field a high ball and produced a great run before passing the ball into touch.
4/10

14 Louis Lynagh
The flyer always looked for work around the park, and he made the Boks sweat a bit out wide. However, he won’t be happy with a poor tackle attempt on Canan Moodie in the 38th minute when the Bok wing powered over for a try.
5.5/10

13 Tommaso Menoncello
The midfielder put in a huge shift on defence, and it was a bit of a mixed bag. He was exposed out wide when he just didn’t have the speed to thwart a dangerous Springbok attack in the build-up to Grant Williams’ opening try. He had a couple of nice touches when he had ball in his hands, but he needed more of it.
4.5/10

12 Marco Zanon
He was a busy man trying to read the Springboks’ attacking play, and he was probably the leading tackler amongst the backs. He also made his presence felt in the physical exchanges.
4.5/10

11 Jacopo Trulla
Limited opportunities with the ball. He eventually left the field with an ankle injury in the 18th minute.
3/10

10 Giacomo De Re
The playmaker didn’t have a lot of quality ball to work with, and when he did have it, it was all too predictable. He was slow to react in some situations, and his kicking game could have been better.
4/10

9 Alessandro Garbisi
A nippy scrumhalf who tried his best to make the Boks uncomfortable around the fringes. His passing game was solid, especially when he had some momentum to work with.
5.5/10

8 Ross Vintcent
He didn’t back down when it came to the physical exchanges, especially on defence, where he was the leading tackler for his team with 20.
6/10

7 Manual Zuliani
It was another impressive performance by the loose forward. His work at the breakdown was something to behold, with some excellent turnovers, particularly in the 27th and 48th minutes.
7.5

6 Sebastian Negri
Italy’s head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, would have been disappointed that the big man didn’t have a bigger impact in the match. He produced a few big hits on defence and a couple of strong carries.
5/10

5 Andrea Zambonin
He is a huge presence on the field, and Italy needed more from him in the physical exchanges. It was a tough time in the line-outs, and he made a silly error by going off his feet at the breakdown when his team was in a rare attacking position in the 35th minute
4.5/10

4 Niccolo Cannone (captain)
He could just see the emotion in his face during the national anthem, and he carried that into the game. However, the execution wasn’t always there, especially at line-out time.
4.5/10

3 Simone Ferrari
It was a tough day in the scrums, and things got even tougher for him when Ox Nche made his way to the field in the 31st minute.
4/10

2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo
He had to work extra hard to find his jumpers at line-out time, and his impact in open play was limited. You could just see the frustration on his face in the first half when he delivered a skew throw after his team just got a penalty.
4.5/10

1 Danilo Fischetti
It was an eventful outing for the prop. He really got under the Springboks’ skin, and he was front and centre when Jasper Wiese got a read for a headbutt on him. He produced a try-saving steal at the breakdown in the 43rd minute. However, he eventually got a yellow card in the 48th minute for slowing the ball down.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Pablo Dimcheff
The line-outs went even more pear-shaped when he was in charge of the throwing.
3.5/10

17 Mirco Spagnolo
He couldn’t turn the tide in the second half, but he gets a pat on the back for trying.
4/10

18 Muhamed Hasa
It was always going to be a huge challenge in the set-pieces, and he really felt it.
4/10

19 Matteo Canali
He didn’t back down in the physical exchanges after he came onto the field.
4/10

20 Alessandro Izekor
He kept himself busy on defence, and he had a couple of carries.
4.5/10

21 David Odiase
Not enough time to be rated.

22 Stephen Varney
Not enough time to be rated

23 Giulio Bertaccini.
He had a torrid time on the field in the first half after he replaced the injured Jacopo Trulla. It was summed up when they failed to deal with an awkward bounce in 22, which led to Edwill van der Merwe’s second try. He also seemed to lack the physicality on defence.
4.5/10

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