Bok leader Kolisi hopes Italy game will be marriage of improvement and results

In Genoa

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi hopes that Saturday's game against Italy at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris will be a case of them marrying their improvement with results.

The Boks go into their 16th encounter against Italy on the back of two narrow losses against Ireland and France that will be remembered for different reasons.

The Boks know that a positive result against Italy is non-negotiable, especially with the incremental improvements Kieran Crowley's side has made.

Kolisi admitted they've been heading in the right direction from a gameplay perspective, but it also needs to reflect in their results.

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"It's frustrating that we've played so well, yet we lose by narrow margins. I thought that last week, we were headed in the right direction," Kolisi said.

"The game that we're in is about results. They don't show that we're playing well, but we know that internally, as a group, the stuff that we're doing and working on is improving.

"We do want to and have to improve, but it's also important we win this weekend."

The Italy Test, South Africa's first in the country in nearly five years and their first since the 49-3 success at the 2019 World Cup.

Italy

15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti

Substitutes: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 Tommaso Menoncello 

Springboks

15 Willie le Roux, 14