South Africa 29 - 13 Italy: Boks too much for Italy despite poor display

WORLD champions South Africa defeated Italy 29-13 despite a disjointed and lethargic performance yesterday. The Springboks appeared affected by the host of changes to the team which beat France last week, although they still conjured four tries in the first of a two-Test series.

The visitors enjoyed greater territory and possession, especially in the opening quarter, but were too limited in their approach to seriously trouble the hosts.

Flyhalf Morne Steyn scored 14 points for South Africa, while eight of Italy's points came from the boot of winger Mirco Bergamasco.

Springboks captain Victor Matfield said he had been frustrated by his team's error-strewn display.

"I don't think we played very well and we made too many basic errors," he said. "We'll work on that and next week will definitely be better. It's just the top three inches that we have to get right."