Nov 5 (Reuters) - Born in South Africa and raised on Springbok rugby, Ross Vintcent will pull on the Italy jersey on Saturday to face his home country in a fixture he and his family relish despite divided loyalties.
Italy host South Africa in Turin in the Nations Championship on Saturday and, although number eight Vintcent has faced the Springboks three times already, the meeting has lost none of its appeal.
"It's still the most exciting fixture of the year," he told Reuters.
"The one match that any South African-born Italian could wish for is against the Springboks, the best team in the world, in Italy. It's always a special fixture.
"The first time we played them, I was humming the South African national anthem. I mean, it's a catchy tune. Some of my family had the Italy flag painted on one cheek and the South African flag on the other."
Saturday's match, where Vintcent is set to come off the bench, could have tested family loyalties even further.
"There was a moment on Monday where we thought Riley Norton was going to be named in the (South Africa) squad, and Riley's my second cousin," Vintcent, who qualifies for Italy through his maternal grandfather, said.
"The family chat was popping off hoping we were going to face each other. Unfortunately, he wasn't selected, but they love watching Italy and me just as much as they love watching the Boks."
LAST TIME IN TURIN
Italy have beaten South Africa once in 19 meetings, in 2016, and Vintcent has yet to taste success against the Springboks. The 24-year-old will hope for a better outcome than their last meeting a year ago in Turin, when he suffered a shoulder injury.
That kept Vintcent out of this year's Six Nations and, while he is back fighting fit, Italy go into Saturday's game with a long injury list and several key players missing.
"We know we're going to be underdogs, fully fit or not, but especially in this scenario," Vintcent said.
"That just gives the boys more hunger and desire to go out and show them what kind of team we are.
"When we're all guns firing, we're a threat to any team. It's about consistency, that's the difference between the good teams and the great teams. The great teams show up every week."
Vintcent was born in Johannesburg, moved with his family to Dubai as a child and returned to South Africa to attend boarding school in his teens.
At 18, when he thought his future lay away from rugby, he was invited to join Italy's academy and views every appearance as a chance of showing his gratitude.
"It's an opportunity to give back to the country that took me in with open arms in the middle of COVID when there was nothing really going on," Vintcent said.
"They gave me an opportunity and every time I put the jersey on I just want to give back to Italy, and to make my family and my younger self proud."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
