The Springboks secured a 42-24 victory over an understrength Italy in the opening Test match of the Incoming Test Series at Loftus Versfeld. Despite the win, South Africa's coach Rassie Erasmus expressed frustration with his team's performance, citing a lack of belief and effort, and indicated that this could influence his selection decisions for the next Test against Italy in Gqeberha. Italy's coach Gonzalo Quesada praised his side's resilience and referred to his team as the "Grenade Squad," which he said outperformed the Springboks' renowned "Bomb Squad" in certain aspects, particularly in physical contests such as mauls. Erasmus also addressed and dismissed allegations of spying made by Warren Gatland during the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour, calling the claims "nasty" and unfounded. The match highlighted South Africa's traditional strengths in scrum, physicality, and accurate kicking, which Italy struggled to counter. The Springboks scored six tries, demonstrating the potential within the squad despite the coach's reservations about their overall performance.