The Springboks turned in a performance as dismal as the rainy weather as they beat Italy 26-0 at Newlands. The Springboks led 14-0 at halftime.

South Africa struggled to impose themselves on an under-strength Italy but were still far too strong for their opponents in the driving rain at Newlands this afternoon. The Italians arrived in South Africa with a host of first-team regulars missing from their squad and, although Springboks coach Peter de Villiers responded by selecting an experimental line-up of his own, the home side were expected to claim a convincing win.

However, a combination of poor conditions and a defensive-minded Azzurri side conspired to frustrate the home side in their final preparation match before next month's Tri-Nations. Bismarck de Plessis crossed for two tries after Francois Steyn had given the hosts and early lead. Tendai Mtawarira completed the try-scoring for the hosts.

For the Springboks the match was about assessing their depth ahead of their Tri-Nations opener against New Zealand in Wellington on July 5. Francois Steyn was the player to shine brightest on a dull and gloomy day in Cape Town as he took over the reins at fly-half in the absence of the rested Butch James.

In just his second game in the number 10 jersey, Steyn crossed for the game's first try after seven minutes. Bryan Habana fielded a high kick and chose to run it back, beating five defenders before he was brought to ground.

The recycled ball was sent to Steyn, who grubbered it through behind the defence and then sprinted past them to pick up with one hand and glide across the tryline for a magnificent score. Steyn converted his own try, before the Springboks struck again with a rolling maul marching up from the 22 metre line and hooker Du Plessis ending up with the ball in his hand as referee George Clancy had no option but to award the try.

The Boks could not add to their 14-0 lead before half-time as they were continually frustrated by the tourists who pinned them down at the breakdown, with some of the South African players losing focus and getting sucked into personal exchanges with the Italians. After the break the hosts upped the ante and immediately were on the board when Du Plessis again was at the back of a rolling maul that couldn't be stopped on its way to the line.

The fourth try was probably the best of the match, with Steyn starting a move inside his own 22 metre line. Conrad Jantjes and Enrico Januarie took the ball forward before Steyn again sent it wide to Habana, whose final inside pass found Mtawarira who went over to score.

The home side continued to pour forward but failed to piece together enough phases of play to break down the Italian defence. When the final whistle finally blew it came as a relief for the players on both sides as the conditions worsened further.

South Africa (14) 26 Italy (0) 0

South Africa: Tries: Steyn, du Plessis 2, Mtawarira. Cons: Steyn 3.

South Africa: Jantjes, Ndungane, Bobo, de Villiers, Habana, Steyn, Januarie, Mtawarira, du Plessis, van der Linde, B. Botha, Matfield, Watson, Smith, Kankowski.

Replacements: Grant for Jantjes (56), Pienaar for Januarie (66), Brits for du Plessis (66), Mujati for van der Linde (65), Bekker for B. Botha (65), Burger for Watson (56), Van Niekerk for Kankowski (38).

Italy:

Italy: Marcato, Robertson, Masi, Garcia, Pratichetti, McLean, Picone, Rizzo, Ghiraldini, Nieto, Dellape, Del Fava, Zanni, Barbieri, Sole.

Replacements: Pavan for Marcato (68), Erasmus for Garcia (72), Canavosio for Picone (63), Rouyet for Rizzo (48), Reato for Dellape (68).

Not Used: Ongaro, Patrizio.

Sin Bin: Del Fava (37).

Ref: George Clancy (IRFU).