‘It wasn’t the crispest performance’ – Rassie Erasmus

Editor

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus believes his side must be more consistent after their bonus-point 34-21 win over Argentina in Durban.

Braces from Aphiwe Dyantyi and Makazole Mapimpi and one each for Lukhanyo Am and Faf de Klerk saw the Springboks seal a comfortable victory.

However, while Erasmus did take pleasure in how his troops bounced back after the break, he was not overly pleased with his side’s performance.

“The only positive was the first 30 minutes in the second-half; it was the only decent rugby we played,” the coach told SA Rugby’s website.

“I was expecting that we wouldn’t produce a completely fluent display, but the first-half was worse than I thought. Thankfully Siya (Kolisi) and the boys picked it up after the break.

“We lost a few line-outs that were crucial and there were some technical errors but for all of that it was a dominant performance, but it wasn’t the crispest performance. Technically and tactically we weren’t on par.”

He added: “The line-outs we lost in their 22 were a problem – we were down there five times and we didn’t capitalise in the first half. That was the most frustrating thing.

“But you have to look at the positive – there is some gelling to be done in this team but as long as the effort is there it will come and we saw good effort.”

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Changes are expected to be made to the Springbok side for the reverse fixture in Mendoza next weekend, with Erasmus revealing his plans.

“They know what we’re about now and we’ll make a few changes to the team – four of five changes – as we’re expecting a massive physical onslaught; they are fuming,” he said.

“They have always been tough there – but we got five points out of this game; not the most beautiful and perfect game but we’re well in it. Going there I don’t think we have the luxury of experimenting.”