Italy punished the ill-disciplined Junior Springboks to stun the hosts of the World Rugby U20 Championship in atrocious conditions in Paarl on Thursday.
A flurry of points at the start of each half gave the determined and physical Italians enough of a buffer to clinch a 34-26 victory, their first against SA U20.
What a moment for @Federugby! 🇮🇹
They have shocked the hosts to pull off an outstanding victory! 🔥#WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/SyHw2OtgPQ
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 29, 2023
With Argentina losing to Georgia in Stellenbosch, it means the race to advance from Pool C has been blown wide open, with every team sitting on one win each.
Losses for South Africa and Argentina also meant that each of the Sanzaar sides had been defeated by their northern hemisphere counterparts, with New Zealand and Australia being beaten by France and Ireland respectively earlier in the day.
There will be plenty for the Junior Springboks to reflect on, especially as they conceded 17 penalties in the match, which was costly in muddy conditions that made defending the driving maul a nightmare.
Featuring a plethora of changes to the side that beat Georgia in the opening round, the Junior Boks could not have made a worse start against an Italy side that was hungry to bounce back after losing heavily to Argentina.
Not only did they waste an early try-scoring opportunity from a five-metre scrum, but the home side also conceded a penalty try, yellow card and fell 17-0 down, losing starting halfbacks Neil le Roux and Sam Francis to injuries in the process.
To their credit, the Junior Boks fought back bravely towards the end of the first half, with Katlego Letebele and Jurenzo Julius scoring their second tries of the tournament to reduce the gap to five points at the break.
Not bad for a cross field kick! 😮💨 #WorldRugbyU20s | @JuniorBoks pic.twitter.com/Z0NtIUstYZ
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 29, 2023
However, South Africa’s discipline problem came back to hurt them at the start of the second half and Italy took full advantage with a brace from tighthead prop Marcos Gallorini.
Pure magic from Markus 🪄
What an extraordinary finish! 🇿🇦#WorldRugbyU20s |@JuniorBoks pic.twitter.com/DqY8HXYoBH
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 29, 2023
A sensational try from Damian Markus, where he ran 80 metres from inside his own 22, and an excellent bit of opportunism from hooker Juann Else brought South Africa back into the game, but it was not to be as Italy powered to a historic win.
Photo: World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images