Complacency is the Springboks' biggest threat, says Thinus Delport

The Springboks arrive in Italy with plenty of attacking options, but it is the basics of the game that they will need to get right, says Thinus Delport.

The Sky Sports pundit is expecting a stern test from Italy, and has warned the Springboks that complacency is their biggest threat when the game

“Whenever South Africa goes into a game as favourites, they always seem to make life difficult for themselves,” said the former Springbok. “The second Test against Wales, the games against Argentina and that Test match against Ireland all stand as examples of what happens when the Springboks appear complacent."

Though Delport says he is expecting to see a switched-on performance from the Boks.

“The team will have learned a sobering lesson against Ireland and that will still be fresh in their minds.

“Even though their last game was a win they won’t be complacent. It won’t take much to get the guys fired up.”

Delport says that the Springboks won't be expecting to see anything from Italy that is far removed from their usual tactics.

“South Africa will know exactly what to expect from the Italian pack and from a very passionate Italian crowd.

“As a nation they are incredibly passionate and their team plays with that same emotion. In the first 20-30 minutes of the game they’re going to be right in the face of the South Africans.

“They have big, bruising forwards who love to scrum and a world-class back row that will contest for the ball at the breakdown.

“Even though they haven’t have many wins this year they’ve pushed some teams really close, which goes to show that they were able to match the opposition physically.

“As is almost always the case, the team that claims dominance of that breakdown will win, but that is an area where the Italians don’t struggle, so this will prove to be a stern test for the Springboks.

Despite the bruising match up that has been set up between the two sets of forwards, Delport said he is intrigued by what will be happening behind the scrums.

“I’m interested to see how their new fly-half Kelly Haimona goes against the Springboks.

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“I thought his opposite number, Patrick Lambie, had outstanding games at Twickenham apart from a few little mistakes. The young fly-half controlled the game very well on the day.

“His tactical kicking was precise and the variations of those kicks were impressive. In the northern hemisphere you need to play against the opposition as well as the conditions and in that respect Lambie did really well."

The man from whom Lambie has taken the starting fly-half berth, Handre Pollard, suffered in South Africa’s dour performance against Ireland, but Delport is confident that they former Under 20 star will benefit from the experience.

“He’s been fortunate in the past to be playing behind dominant Springbok forward packs and against Ireland his side was on the back foot. The Springboks weren’t able to get that momentum going and that pressure was put on him.

“It’s all a learning curve and he will have learned his lesson in Dublin which will help him grow.”

Elsewhere in the team, Delport says he will have an eye on Racing Metro star Johan Goosen, who Heyneke Meyer is trying in a new position for the Boks.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Goosen start at full-back. Willie le Roux is in need of a break and we are struggling a little bit with depth in that area.”

But it’s not long before he turns his attention back to the forwards.

“Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen and Adriaan Strauss have plenty of experience playing together for the Cheetahs, but it’s going to be a very experienced Italian front row that meets them on Saturday.”

“That will be a tough ask for the three of them.”