Talking points: South Africa overpower Italy in WXV Global Series

South Africa held on against Italy to claim a nail-biting 41-29 victory in the WXV Global Series at Stadio Omero Tognon.

The Springbok Women looked firmly in control after racing into a 24-12 half-time lead, but Italy produced a brilliant second half fightback to turn the game on its head.

The Azzurre briefly moved 29-27 ahead with 20 minutes remaining before South Africa regained control late on.

Anushka Groenewald scored twice in the first half, alongside Byrhandre Dolf and Maria Tshiremba, while Alyssa D’Inca and Vittoria Vecchini kept Italy within touching distance at the break.

Italy then came flying out of the blocks after half-time, with D’Inca scoring her second before captain Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi crossed to put the Azzurre ahead for the first time since the opening five minutes.

However, South Africa had the final say. Micke Gunter came off the bench and restored their lead with just over 10 minutes remaining before Logan Welman added a late try to seal an entertaining 41-29 victory.

South Africa looked dominant in the first half

What a turnaround by South Africa from last week’s 50-19 defeat to Wales.

They looked fast, physical and dominant for large portions of the first half. In spite of Italy making a quick start, with Alyssa D’Inca getting over for the first score of the game, the Springbok Women quickly took control and scored four tries within the opening thirty minutes.

Their rolling maul was particularly effective, with hooker Anushka Groenewald crashing over twice from close range. Byrhandre Dolf also showed her fancy footwork to weave through the Italian defence to cross the whitewash and Maria Tshiremba impressively collected Libbie Janse van Rensburg’s chip to dot down.

Plinio Scimanna’s side did look to build some phases of attack to respond and all hope was not lost as a big carry from captain Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi brought her side close, with Vittoria Vecchini stretching out and finishing the attack.

However, at 24-12 up at half-time, South Africa looked to have built a lead that would be difficult for Italy to overcome.

The Azzurre had other ideas.

Italy completely changed the momentum

The second half was full of thrilling rugby to watch and your head kept turning from one side of the pitch to the other with how quickly the momentum kept changing.

Within the first five minutes, South Africa’s discipline seemed to slip. They were penalised early on for a tackle in the air and then prop Yonela Ngxingolo was sent to the sin bin with an off-field review for a dangerous clear out and making contact with the neck.

Whilst the yellow card remained a yellow card, the momentum seemed to start to shift in the Italians’ favour and they began to put the Springboks under sustained pressure.

A monstrous carry from Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi saw the captain break through South African defence to gain strong attacking position and quick hands from Auro Muzzo to Alyssa D’Inca saw the winger get over for her second try, closing the score to just a five-point deficit.

The visitors responded as Cilliers knocked over an easy penalty, but the Italian captain got over the try line a matter of minutes later to bring the score to 27-26 to South Africa with 20 minutes left to play.

The boot of Michela Sillari then kicked a beautiful penalty to put her side back in the lead 29-27 for the first time since the five-minute mark.

It was a pretty remarkable turnaround from being 24-12 down at the break, and for a period it looked as though Italy had completely wrestled control of the match away from South Africa.

The Springboks deserve credit for the way they responded, as Micke Gunter’s late try from a maul restored their lead before Logan Welman’s score with the clock in the red put the result beyond doubt.

Pure brilliance from Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi

The Italian captain was a shining light throughout the match and was one of the driving forces behind her side’s remarkable second half comeback.

The full-back was a constant threat with ball in hand, really controlled the game, and popped up all over the pitch. Her monstrous carry created the attacking platform for D’Inca’s second try, before she went over herself to bring the Azzurre within a point.

She continued to cause problems right until the final stages, with one particularly impressive moment coming when she showed her pace with a carry and chip-and-chase to win Italy a scrum close to the try line with five minutes remaining.

Italy appeared to have completed another remarkable comeback when Francesca Granzotto looked to have grounded the ball late on, but the try was ruled out after her foot was found to be in touch.

That ultimately summed up Italy’s afternoon: plenty of attacking threat and some brilliant individual moments, but not enough reward for the impressive opportunities they created.

The Azzurre now have two Test matches against the USA Women’s Eagles to look forward to in the October stage of the WXV Global Series, where Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi and her side will look to turn those promising attacking moments into a more complete 80-minute performance.