Boks: Tough defeat to swallow
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Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer lamented his team's mental shortcomings after Saturday's loss to Australia in Perth.
South Africa squandered a 10-point lead to lose 26-19 as they failed to bounce back from their shock draw with Argentina.
Meyer said the result could be traced to a combination of a couple of simple mistakes and some missed opportunities, adding that the yellow card issued to prop Tendai Mtawarira just before half-time was a pivotal moment in the match.
"It is all about handling pressure, being mentally tough and showing character," said the Boks boss.
"Test match rugby is not always about who plays the best, it is about who handles the pressure the best.
"To win away from home you have to have a great game-plan and execute it. I thought we executed the game-plan well for the first 60 minutes. I thought we put them under pressure but we had two soft moments in the game that cost us and away from home you can't make those mistakes.
"There was a little bit of a lack of experience on the field
"But all credit to the Wallabies. They came back when it mattered.
"There was a huge improvement but I'm still not happy with our performance. We need to play better," he added.
Comments
CapeTownBok says...
Why is it that SA teams can play attractive rugby, score tries, and have great individual efforts at Super 15, BUT take those same players and pull a green jersey over them and they become the most predictable side on the planet? Add to that a coach who is stuck in playing Bulls rugby of 2004-07, then we as South Africans clearly have a torrid time ahead of us. Dare I say that in the PdV days we at least had the 50-50 hope that if we click we can beat any team on the day - well, we don't even have that glimmer of hope nowadays. Just look at the way our Currie Cup teams are playing, straight running, offloads, ball going through the hands and wings actually receiving the ball in space. We see none of that with the Boks. Why? Because for some reason Bok coaches are hell bent on power and size.
Posted 09:50 13th September 2012
saffastormer says...
Passing the buck there HM ? typical SA coaching style - coach an archaic game plan and then blame the players for defeat SIS !!! Never in my life would I imagine that I longed to see PdV back. Come on Nick Mallet, stash away your pride and rescue us
Posted 09:47 11th September 2012
Sharkies says...
Funny how all the coaches that have lead the teams to some sort of victory seem to be English speaking as well as the Captains, maybe that's the problem, this has the taste of Kamp Staldraad mentality.
Posted 04:00 11th September 2012
olepete says...
Blaming the team makes a welcome change from blaming the referee.
Posted 17:07 10th September 2012
mrbligh says...
All I know is that it's the All Blacks 1st in the world and the Aussies and Saffas a VERY distant 2nd/3rd (about equal). I don't think the gap has ever been as big as it is now. Usually one of Aus or SA can challenge NZ, but I can't see SA getting any closer to them than the Aussies did after the weekend.
Posted 13:27 10th September 2012
Wallaroo says...
I feel so much better about every coach we have in Aus now. All my criticism of Deans in the past in the past was unjust and unfair, never in a million years would he treat his players with such contempt, Meyer in in serious need of a lesson in emotional intelligence.
He has picked and coached the Boks to ridiculous lows, no wonder they look so frustrated I'd be if I was in their shoes. Ramage, correct mate, the man has no idea about the fundamental constituent of leadership; namely responsibility.
Posted 12:53 10th September 2012
carpelone says...
You handle pressure whan you know what to do, the basics. Who has to tell the players what to do? I think it is you. Obviously, there is no apparent leadership in the squad.
Posted 18:33 09th September 2012
bloemboy says...
Second week in a row that Meyer is balming the team for the poor result. I cannot think of a Bok side in the last 20 years that would have lost to Australia on Saturday, and yet the personnel in the team are collectively very good, possibly destined to be great (if a few notable candidates are replaced).
Posted 17:33 09th September 2012
Voice says...
Week in & week out we talk this game to death with the same old same old. I have become so bored and have lost so much interest in the boks, HM, fans, rugby and all the other aspects of what SA rugby! I don't give a toss if the boks get ripped to pieces for the 2 years. Can we please just at least put someone on the field that wants to have a go!!
Posted 13:25 09th September 2012
ABlack says...
The Bok coach is stuck in a 1970's timewarp. Habana is the most wasted player on attack in world rugby and the bok forwards are overrated andf have to play to a antiquated game plan that dosnt work.
Posted 11:07 09th September 2012
melkdave says...
More excuses,nothing more from HM,and like @SACanuck i saw no good gameplan ,or even a gameplan being executed well.All match the bokke struggled to contain the wallabies from getting feild position and scoring points.,They kicked away to much ball and alot of it was aimless kicking,the chase was poor ,and as usual these days they didnt get any turnovers.The hard hitting/running big forwards didnt really put the wallaby defence on the backfoot at all,and the bokke breakdown problems persisted.HM has to stop makeing excuses like their uninexperianced ,and loss of concentration ect ,admit his gameplan needs expanding,and bring in players who can expand on it,like G.Aplon JdeJ H.Brussow and start using P.Lambie and J.Goosen now they are in the squad.Even in the Currie cup the blue bulls are getting hammerd in alot of games ,their style/gameplan is fine for a basic foundation ,but it needs expanded backline play ,and good running lines/moves added for it to win games consistently today.HM im afraid is leaning you cant go back ,but need to keep moving forward to win consistently.
Posted 11:04 09th September 2012
passtheball says...
SA too predictable so teams are now ready for their limited tactics. Its not just the national team with this limitation of imagination and enterprise. As has been suggested, you could bring back JVD??
Posted 10:54 09th September 2012
Flyman says...
"we need to play better"..... No you idiot, change the game plan & cut your allegiance to Bulls players. There is such a great pool of talent and it's absolutely wasted.
Posted 03:10 09th September 2012
Ramage says...
This guy has to take the cake. He is now blaming the players mental shortcomings. Hang on Mr Meyer if you are going to talk about the mental state of your team have a look at yourself. Your own uncontrollable rants down your walkie talkieis hardly a role model and is there for everyone to see. So before you talk about your players and their mental stability have a very good look at yourself. It is now obvious that you are out of your depth as a coach at International level. Your game plans are yesterday's game and the short time you have been in the job you have set back Bok rugby. Your selections are poor, your game plan is outdated and the way you keep blaming the players you picked, disgraceful. However I think the trouble stems from your own mental instability those outbursts we see every week when things are not going well tells me you are a control freak and extremely unstable. Oh well it will be most interesting to see who is picked in the team to front up to the All Blacks on Saturday and what game plan is adopted.
Posted 01:34 09th September 2012
scot_rsa says...
Flim flam. England took a couple of games to work out the Boks. Argentina took even less time. Aussies bless them did it immediately. The opposition simply don't have toanalyse any intricate Bok backline attacks. They just need players who can catch the ball and forwards who will front up. They're even happy to give away penalties because Morne will shank half of them. The only danger is conceding them in the Bok half because Frans will get the shot.
Posted 21:12 08th September 2012
SACanuck says...
I must have been watching a different game as I did not see a good game plan for 5 minutes never mind 60. What a joke.
Posted 19:33 08th September 2012