Pretoria (AFP) - Scrum-half Morne van den Berg scored two tries as Rugby World Cup title-holders South Africa beat Italy 42-24 in Pretoria on Saturday in the first of two Tests.

Winning his third cap, the 27-year-old half-back from the Johannesburg-based Lions also impressed with his tactical kicking and won the player of the match award.

It was a game of two halves with the Springboks using their scrum power to score four tries and build a 28-3 lead by half-time in front of a near-capacity crowd at the 52,000-capacity Loftus Versfeld.

Two of those tries came when Italy were temporarily reduced to 14 men after No 8 Lorenzo Cannone was sin-binned by Scottish referee Hollie Davidson.

Much-improved Italy outscored the record four-time World Cup winners by three tries to two in the second half despite fielding an experimental team with numerous first choices remaining in Europe.

“We knew it would be tough because Italy are an extremely passionate side. We certainly did not write them off and they showed why tonight,” South Africa captain and centre Jesse Kriel said.

“There is lots for us to work on. In the first half we started strong, but in the second half they defended like their life depended on it. So it was very tough, but it always is at Test level.

“We let ourselves down a bit at the breakdown. They defended very well, but we wanted quick ball to attack with. They frustrated us and we have a lot of work to do there.”

Italy captain and lock Niccolo Cannone said: “We are very happy with our performance. It was a very tough, physical game. But we are happy, although there are some details to improve for next weekend.

“We know the guys we were playing against because we play them a lot in the United Rugby Championship. But this is another type of game and they are different when they wear that (Springbok) jersey.”

- Special moment -

Victory continued the 100 percent record of South Africa when hosting Italy, but it was the second smallest winning margin in eight Tests since 1999.

The other Springbok try scorers were Kriel, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, replacement prop Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden.

It was a special moment for tighthead Koch when he barged over as he notched his first try for South Africa while winning his 62nd cap.

The outstanding try came from Arendse, who raced through the Italian defence from midfield to score after impressive Test debutant Vincent Tshituka won a lineout.

Veteran fly-half Handre Pollard slotted all six conversions, raising his total for the Springboks to 784 points in 81 Tests.

Flanker Manuel Zuliani, replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff on debut and Niccolo Cannone scored tries for the Azzurri.

Fly-half Giacomo Da Re kicked three conversions and a penalty for Italy, whose starting line-up included only five of the team beaten by Ireland in their last 2025 Six Nations Championship match.

When Da Re converted the Cannone try with 11 minutes remaining, there were only 11 points between the teams, raising the possibility of a stunning victory for the visitors.

But the Springboks put the outcome beyond doubt on 74 minutes when Van Staden powered his way over the line and Pollard maintained his perfect record from the kicking tee.

The second Test is scheduled for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in eastern coastal city Gqeberha next Saturday.