Damian Willemse slams 'B team' talk as Springboks turn criticism into unforgettable win

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus decided to make mass changes to the side that defeated France 32-17 in Saint-Denis the previous weekend.

Erasmus was adamant that they were showing respect to the Azzurri by picking the 23 they did, with the Boks boss claiming that tiredness and fatigue was the reason for the alterations following their gruelling encounter against Les Bleus.

That didn't stop people speculating about possible ulterior motives and whether they simply wanted to give their supposed fringe players a chance against what was considered weaker opposition.

But Willemse suggested that it gave them extra motivation as they overcame another red card - this time to Franco Mostert - to defeat the Italians in Turin.

"In the week, as a team we came together. There was a lot said in the media that this is a B team and we felt that was a bit of disrespect towards a lot of the players in the team," he told SuperSport.

"Some of the guys have won World Cups, are double World Cup winners like Handre Pollard. Ethan [Hooker] has shown tremendous form, as has Canan (Moodie), and it didn't sit well with us.

"I think the boys showed that and I'm just really proud of each and everyone - the coaching staff, the physios, the whole staff.

"This is a performance which we will remember for a very long time."

The Springboks were handed a significant setback early on in the game when Mostert was issued a permanent red card with the score still at 0-0.

That gave the Azzurri a huge opportunity to claim a win over the back-to-back World Cup winners, but the visitors showed their champion qualities to defeat their opponents 32-14.

"It's really special this one for us. We knew we had to show character and we did that. Obviously, we got the red card early but we came up with good plans and solutions" Willemse said.

"Obviously, I'm here getting the man of the match but that was a full team performance. I'm very happy and proud of every single team-mate that stepped up. This is a very good win and we're going to remember this for a very long time .

"Our coaches are world-class and then obviously our players as well. We had plans and we came up with solutions at half-time, the coaches gave us some ideas, and the guys bought into that, and you could see it in the second half.

"It wasn't perfect, we still dropped a few balls, missed a couple of lineouts, gave a few penalties away. We gave another yellow card away but we just showed character and the fight for this badge, our country and each other." 

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