The 20-10 defeat to France in the opening tour match has placed added pressure on Springbok coach Harry Viljoen as he considers his options for Saturday's second game against Italy in Genoa.

The Boks limped out of the French capital on Sunday with pride dented and egos severely bruised, but it is anticipated that Viljoen will have a full squad to choose from when he selects his team for the Italy game.

Andre Snyman, who received onfield help late in the second half at Stade de France before being led away, is expected to be fit. "Andre sustained quite a bad cut to his head and required some stitches, but he should be fine to play against Italy if selected," said Viljoen.

The question, though, is whether the coach will select Snyman again after his poor performance in a midfield which battled to make attacking headway. While he made an immense contribution on defence, the centres desperately need to improve the quality of their play with ball in hand.

The Paris defeat has introduced an interesting dilemma for Viljoen. He had made it clear before departure for the tour that the matches against Italy and the United States would be used as an opportunity to blood younger players.

But the loss has left him in desperate need of answers in a number of key areas and the Genoa match is now looming as a last opportunity for him to get his combinations right ahead of the daunting challenge against England at Twickenham on November 24.

Viljoen is aware that the French defeat will be quickly forgotten back home if the Boks beat England and thus provide what would be the defining moment of the tour. This is particularly so after England's win over Australia, which appeared to confirm them as the world's new best team.

But it was clear after Saturday's defeat that several of the combinations could do with another tune-up opportunity and it should not be forgotten that the Boks were playing their first match together since the final Tri-Nations clash with New Zealand at the end of August.

"Right now we are all feeling very emotional and you must never make decisions on emotion," said Viljoen before his team's departure for Italy.

"We need to let the emotion subside a bit and then sit down and think things through calmly and rationally. There are a couple of meetings and chats that I want to have with the players and I will only decide on the selections for the Italy Test after that process has been completed."

While few would debate the logic of Viljoen's argument, it appears reasonable to assume that several key players may be under threat. Top on this list is veteran scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen, who looked lethargic and slow in clearing the ball from the breakdowns and generally had one of his worst performances in the Bok jersey.

After a match where the French proved that it is possible to lack experience and still excel at Test level, perhaps Viljoen will consider this an opportune moment to try different options at scrumhalf and centre.

Both these areas contributed greatly to the indecision and poor options which Viljoen lamented after the match. "We had our chances and we could have won the match had we seized them. But it is critical to know when you should pass and when you should release the ball if you hope to win Test matches.

"You have to make full use of opportunities. We failed to get that right. The way I saw it we wasted at least four good try-scoring opportunities."

In the build-up to the Twickenham match, Viljoen could also do himself the favour of taking a closer look at his loose-forward composition.

Andre Vos did not let the team down and AJ Venter played well in patches, but the high number of turn-overs conceded and the problems experienced by the Boks in winning the ball on the ground must throw the spotlight on Corne Krige, who was the form fetcher in South African rugby at the end of the Currie Cup season.

With England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson displaying such impressive form against Australia, it may also be wise for Viljoen to assess his back three options.

Conrad Jantjes (pictured) allows the ball to bounce too often and his tendency to be caught out of position could be exploited by the tactically gifted boot of Wilkinson. - Sapa