Cape Town – The clash between gnarly, veteran competitors
Duane Vermeulen and Sergio Parisse at No 8 seems easily the most appealing
match-up on paper for Saturday’s Springbok encounter with Italy in Padova.
Both teams are very significantly changed from the line-ups which
did duty when the Azzurri upset the Boks 20-18 on last year’s end-of-season
tour, with the Italians arguably weaker this time and the Boks perhaps in
slightly cheerier own fettle than in particularly bleak, late 2016.
Lightning, then, really oughtn’t strike twice … but here are
some one-on-ones the Boks would do well to boss if sweet, clear-cut enough
revenge is to occur:
Duane Vermeulen v
Sergio Parisse
An undoubted legend of the Italian game, Parisse has played
a mammoth 128 times for the Azzurri, stretching back to 2002 as a mere
18-year-old on debut against New Zealand. Now 34 and a bit past his prime, the
skipper nevertheless retains strong competitive juices, especially against more
highly-touted opponents. He surrenders a few kilograms (though not many) in
bulk to the similarly street-wise Vermeulen in their No 8 tussle; Big Duane was
a convenient absentee, of course, in last year’s historic 20-18 giant-slaying –
Warren Whiteley in that Bok jersey -- by the Italians. Neither man will wish to
concede an inch at close quarters, both are champion lineout factors, and
Parisse is adept at aiding hand-to-hand initiatives on attack. A tad less
flamboyant in style, Vermeulen showed healthy signs of green-and-gold “rebirth”
against France last Saturday, and the Bok camp will be hoping that was simply a
stepping stone toward his trumpeted qualities of old.
Eben Etzebeth v Marco
Fuser
As his surname implies, there is no lack of fire in the
belly of Fuser, the sturdy Italian No 4 lock. Among his 26 total caps, he also
sports a 100 percent record against South Africa, considering that his lone
appearance came handily in that first-time triumph in Florence in 2016. He was
yellow-carded for a tip-tackle on second-row foe Lood de Jager then, but would
have been happy enough to take that “hit” when glancing afterwards at the final
score. Expect him to try to audaciously rile hard-man Etzebeth, who missed last
year’s encounter but leads the redemption mission by the tourists this time.
The Italians will know that if they can somehow knock Etzebeth off his stride,
it could prove infectious in a fairly fragile Bok outfit. Then again, the
Stormers cult figure kept composed and hurled himself into opponents as though
his life depended on it in Paris. Any repeat of such go-forward – though the
Boks mustn’t overdo using him as first receiver – in this fixture should get
the visitors more than halfway home to a good result.
Handre Pollard v
Carlo Canna
Flyhalf Canna potted most of the goals off the tee for the
Italians in last year’s shock outcome … and that is mentioned primarily bearing
in mind how Pollard unusually laboured in that department against France last
weekend. If this match turns into more of a nail-biter than Bok fans would
like, naturally place-kicking could become an influential device. If so, the
South African getting his timing and direction right again in Padova will
settle butterflies. But there must also be a fair chance that the favourites,
determined for history not to repeat itself, will largely starve the
25-year-old Italian pivot Canna of decent, front-foot ball. If Pollard, by
contrast, has a plethora of good “pill” to play with, his strength and
willingness to press for the advantage line should also help facilitate plenty
of Bok try-scoring chances in wider channels. In those circumstances, his
success rate at the posts would hopefully become a near-irrelevance …
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