The Italian Azzuri take on the South African Springboks in Udine, Italy on Saturday, 16:00 SA Time. A boyant Italy vs a regressing Springbok team full of squeaks, bubbles, blisters and with a bent chassis! What are we in for boys and girls… are we in for a shocker?

Italy under Nick Mallett had a good run against the All Black 2nd stringers, but is that just body filler and a bad paint job over a 12 game losing streak?

The Italian forwards are like a V6 muscle motor in a chassis of an old Datsun 160Y… the wheels (backline players) are too thin, the tread on the tires worn out a bit. For those who do not understand my beautiful compartive analogies… by this I mean that the Italian forwards seem very good, their scrum is solid, their locks do the hard graft, their loosies play like men possessed but their backline is not up to standard.

In Sergio Parisse they have one of the world’s best No 8’s and he is an inspirational captain who leads by example. In Marin Castrogiovanni they have a prop who eats opponents for breakfast, lunch and supper.

In the backline they do not have much potency, that’s the reason for the comparison with the Datun 160Y chassis.

The Springboks, current World Champions, Three Nations Champions, Winners of the B & I Lions series are way below par though, fatigue and the missing 3 very important Bokke in Jean de Villiers, Frans Steyn & Pierre Spies as well as a few key players who are off form are quickly turning this End of Year Tour into the “Tour from hell”.

The Bokke seem to have a 1.3L Uno motor built into a bent Ferrari chassis at the moment.

The Bokke scrum is suspect, in fact it has been dismal. On Saturday we see Wian du Preez at loosehead, making his Bokke debut, with his stallwart team mate from the Cheetahs, Adriaan Strauss next to him in the hooker berth and with Captain John Smit, the converted hooker, anchoring the scrum at tight head. Behind them we see Andries Bekker (not a strong scrummer) partnering Bakkies Botha… and an unsettled loose forward combination (Brüssow, Danie Rossouw and Ryan Kankowski). How are these guys supposed to scrum well, especially with coaches who do not put much value in strong scrums anyway?

Brüssow is the world’s best opensider at the moment, Danie Rossouw is a mere shadow of what he is truly capable of and Ryan Kankowski is in the worst form of his carreer.

The backline looks far too solid for Ialy though, even though it contains Adi Jacobs at inside centre.

The bench looks very good with the exception of Ruan Pienaar who does not inspire any confidence, despite his undoubted slumbering talent.

I’m going to stick my neck far out and say the Bokke will win comfortably… Bokke by 17 PLUS.

Players to watch:

Heinrich Brüssow of South Africa who in just one season has become a hero with his ball-winning, ball-retention handling and tackling. It’s just that he could be on his own when it was graft time with only Bakkies Botha to help him. Sergio Parisse of Italy is, it seems, the only player with intuitive skill in the Italian side, a great player, a man without frills. Don’t you wish Zane Kirchner was also a player to watch with sharp, long-striding incursions into the line to set Bryan Habana running free?

Head to Head: The big head-to head will be in the front row – front row against front row, especially maestro Martin Castrogiovanni against rookie Wian du Preez. Leonardo Ghiraldini is on the bench on Saturday, but the Italian scrum was even stronger when veteran Fabio Ongaro was hooking. This will be a serious, match-affecting contest. Bakkies Botha of South Africa against strong Carlo Dal Fava, formerly of South Africa, now of Italy – strength against strength. In the loose there will be a contest of veteran Mauro Bergamasco, fearless man, and new star Heinrich Brüssow, a relentless man. Outside of the pack the Springboks look capable of winning every personal clash.

Previous Results
2008: South Africa won 26-0, Cape Town
2001: South Africa won 54-26, Genoa
2001: South Africa won 60-14, Port Elizabeth
1999: South Africa won 101-0, Durban
1999: South Africa won 74-3, Port Elizabeth
1997: South Africa won 62-31, Bologna
1995: South Africa won 40-21, Rome

Teams:

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Matteo Pratichetti, 13 Alberto Sgarbi, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Simon Piccone, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Josh Sole, 20 Mauro Bergamasco, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Gonzalo Canale

South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Adi Jacobs, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Tendai Mtawarira, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Victor Matfield, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Stadio Friuli, Udine
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT; 16.00 SA time)
Expected weather conditions: Clear with a high of 14°C, dropping to 4°C and a light wind
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: James Jones (Wales), Peter Allan (Scotland)
TMO: Hugh Watkins (Wales)