Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith insists that Italy are not to be underestimated as South Africa prepares to face them in Saturday’s Castle Lager Outgoing tour in Genoa.

South Africa will come into this fixture looking to bounce back after their defeat to France when they travel to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday.

The Springboks had Thursday off to rest and recuperate and will return to the field on Friday for their captains run.

Even though Italy is ranked 11th in the world, they beat big teams like Wales and Australia this year. Smith expected them to play well again this weekend, especially since both teams are using every Test as practice for the Rugby World Cup in France next year.

“Many teams underestimate Italy and when they arrive here, they are surprised in the first few minutes,” said Smith.

“They are a good team and they’ve had good wins this year, so we have to make sure we pitch up with the right mindset and do our best on the field.

“Their results have certainly created awareness among us about the challenge they will pose going into the weekend. Their results against Wales and Australia were a wake-up call to show us that it won’t be easy.”

Smith added: “They brought in a few young players after the Rugby World Cup and they are strong in the scrums and lineouts, so we know we are in for a tough match.

“From our perspective we come off two close results against the first and second ranked teams in the world, and we feel those results could have gone either way, as there were a few errors that cost us as a team.

“The important thing we took from those games is to make sure we improve on our processes and systems and get better.”

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