Willemse top of the Bok class

15 Damian Willemse 9/10 Snuffed out countless Italian attacks with the Springboks down to 14 and later 13 players on the pitch, yet stayed vibrant by keeping the Boks on the front foot with counter attacks.

- BY FRANCOIS DE WET

THE Springboks weet nie van verloor af nie. Not even after being cut to 14 men and at one stage 13 as the world champions klapped Italy 32-14 in Turin on Saturday.

This time around a farce of a decision to red card lock Franco Mostert made it feel as if the Boks were playing 16 Italians as referee James Doleman made the big call to limit captain Siya Kolisi and his team to 14 manne.

However, staying true to their word of not letting swak refereeing smokkel met hul koppe, Kolisi's troops stood up, snuffing out attack after attack by the Azzurri, with fullback and man of the match Damian Willemse playing a starring role.

And it was karma-like as the Boks turned the Mostert setback into motivation by

BY FRANCOIS DE WET

soaking in the Italian pressure, before a Handre Pollard penalty and try by Marco van Staden secured a 10-3 halftime lead.