Italrugby Swept Aside by South Africa at Juventus’ Home Stadium

A debut to forget for Italy’s rugby team in the Northern Series of the 2026 Nations Championship. At Turin’s Allianz Stadium, head coach Gonzalo Quesada’s Azzurri suffered a crushing defeat against South Africa, the World Cup runner-up, which won by a decisive 66-7 margin in the first of four international matches.

The Springboks immediately asserted their superiority, completely dominating the first half and heading into halftime with a staggering 45-0 lead. The visitors showcased their physical power and skill with the ball in hand, repeatedly finding gaps in the Italian defense.

They scored seven tries in the first half: Mngomezulu, Van den Berg, Marx (who scored twice), Kolisi, and Willemse all found the try line. It was an overwhelming performance that left very little room for the Azzurri, who struggled both to contain their opponents’ advances and to counter the South African mauls.

In the second half, Quesada’s team tried to mount a comeback, showing greater initiative and finally managing to score a try. At the 62-minute mark, Ruzza broke Italy’s scoring drought, with Allan completing the score by converting the kick. The reaction, however, was not enough to turn around a match that was already out of reach. South Africa continued to press and scored two more tries through Louw and De Villiers, before Hooker’s final try at the very end.

The scoreboard at Allianz Stadium thus confirmed the final score of 66–7 in favor of the Springboks, who demonstrated their full strength. For Italy, this is a crushing defeat from which they must bounce back ahead of their upcoming matches. The next game is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, when the Azzurri will face Argentina at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa. Kickoff is set for 12:40 p.m.: a new opportunity to try to redeem themselves after their poor performance against the South African champions.