Jacques Nienaber France Italy South Africa Ireland county Florence Samoa springboks Rugby Jacques Nienaber France Italy South Africa Ireland county Florence Samoa

Lambie backs Springboks to 'do the job' against 'fighting' Italy

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In Sun CityFormer Springbok flyhalf Pat Lambie believes South Africa can bounce back but admits it won't be easy against a 'fighting' Italian side.Jacques Nienaber's side has had a disappointing tour thus far after losing their opening two year-end Tests against Ireland (19-16) and France (30-26).The Springboks come up against a resurgent Italian side, who defeated Samoa (49-17) and then put on a stunning display last weekend to beat the Wallabies 28-27.LIVE | On tour with the SpringboksLambie was part of the Springboks' sole loss against the Italians in Florence in 2016 when they went down 20-18.And while South Africa still boasts a favourable record against Italy, Lambie insists that the Springboks have the squad to get over the line and win their first Test in Europe."Italy are never an easy side to play away from home.

The last time, in particular, the game was under control and it certainly felt that way on the field in 50-60 minutes in it," said Lambie on Friday at the Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational in Sun City."Then it goes one or the other way where you run away with it or they get a little bit of momentum and suddenly it's going to be a tight game.

And that was hard the last time around. So I would hope that the players are mentally prepared for that. There will be a fight, they're not going to just lie down and go away."You know it could be well into the deep into the second half before there's some breathing room.

Even though I haven't seen the team, the squad that we have is really strong... We could pick any one of them, but I'm sure they're going to be able to do the job for us."READ | Boks heavy favourites to floor Italy - bookiesThe reigning World Cup champions haven't had the end-of-year tour they

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