Padova: Italy is one of the renowned European countries, with a special culture and tradition all of its own.
The locals are proud to speak Italian and don’t enjoy having to converse in English, and this is especially so in the smaller towns. Padova, near Venice in northern Italy, is one such place, and while the Springboks received a special welcome from a choir upon arrival at their hotel on Sunday evening from London, their preparations for Saturday’s Test against Italy immediately hit a snag.
Springbok assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher said at a press conference on Monday morning that the team were yet to have a look at Italy’s recent matches – due to a lack of plug adaptors. “We struggled with adaptors! But I think this week is purely about ourselves,” he said.
And the plugs may not be the only issue they have to deal with this week. Normally the Boks stay in four- or five-star accommodation so that the players are as comfortable as possible building up to the match, but the hotel they are staying in here in Padova is not the most impressive.
The rooms are antiquated in appearance, while the lifts can’t take more than two or three Boks at a time. It is believed that they decided on this hotel as it’s a bit closer to their training ground than some of the other smarter hotels in the city.
But they will be confident of overcoming these minor hurdles after beating England 31-28 at Twickenham last week.