Springbok scrum coach Daan Human and front-row forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels expect a bruising battle against Italy at Loftus.
The world champions kick off their Test campaign on Saturday on the back of a 54-7 win against the Barbarians in Cape Town.
The Azzurri, who are 10th on the World Rugby rankings, warmed up for the Bok Test with an 11-try, 73-6 victory against Namibia in Windhoek last Friday.
Springbok assistant coach Daan Human and utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels stressed on Monday that they would not underestimate Italy.
“Unlike the Barbarians, who do not play regularly, Italy do, so we will be facing a proper Test team on Saturday,” said Human. “The one thing about the Springboks is that we do not underestimate any side, and we know that Italy are very focused on their forward play, so it will be a proper Test match.
“They were very competitive in their first two Six Nations matches, and they have a 93% scrum completion rate, which says a lot about that area of their game,” he added.
“They also won four scrum penalties and got a penalty try against Namibia, who had a few players who have played in Rugby World Cups before, so we certainly respect them as a team.
“We are not sure who they will play in the pack this weekend, but we know it will be a good contest.”
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Wessels, one of the Boks’ try-scorers against the Baa Baas, said he had learned a lot from playing against the Italian clubs in the Vodacom URC.
“I faced Zebre Parma and Benetton, and we did our homework on those players then, so we know the emphasis they place on the scrums.
“In fact, Zebre had one of their best seasons this year and beat a few big teams in the competition, so we are expecting a proper battle against them.”
Wessels, who is equally adept at playing loosehead prop and hooker, said he doesn’t mind which role he has to fill.
“I just want to contribute wherever I am picked, and as much as I feel for Gerhard [Steenekamp] when he got injured, having to play both positions certainly helped me in getting game time at prop and hooker.”
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Wessels and tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye spent time with Human on his farm in the Free State working on his scrummaging.
“We had a break during the URC, and my parents live in Bloemfontein, so Daan offered to help me grow in that role,” said Wessels. “It’s the small things that make one a better player, and although it was tough, I really enjoyed it.”
“Our focus was firstly to ensure that they are conditioned to scrum well, and we also worked on the fundamentals of scrummaging.
“I’ve always said you do not scrum against a machine on the field, so we try to use techniques to make the players better scrummagers in general.”
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will name his team on Tuesday.
Photo: OJ Koloti/Gallo Images
