Rassie Erasmus identifies where Springboks lost the game against Wallabies and reveals why it’s a ‘valuable experience’
Springboks captain Andre Esterhuizen in action against the Wallabies and head coach Rassie Erasmus (inset).
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Andre Esterhuizen accepted full blame for their disappointing defeat against the Wallabies at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday.
Australia held a 24-17 lead at half-time and were up 42-17 after 65 minutes, before South Africa launched a fightback in the final quarter, and although the Boks managed to claw their way back into the match, taking the game down to the wire, Erasmus and Esterhuizen made no excuses for the 42-38 defeat.
“For us, we lost in a Springbok jersey against Australia, and with all the disruptions, we have nobody else to blame but ourselves for the result,” said Erasmus.
‘We didn’t play well enough’
“I know the technology failed a bit, the clock kept running and didn’t stop at times for example, but that didn’t influence how we played. We controlled that. We didn’t play well enough tonight to beat a stronger team.”
The Boks boss added: “When you’re 25 points behind, there’s nobody else to blame but yourself. We rolled the dice a bit, and some guys haven’t played a lot together in a long time, but it’s not an excuse.
“We picked the team, and we had a game-plan, and I thought we had a chance at the end, but the better team won on the night.
“It’s sad to lose, but it’s not because we’ve been together too long. It’s because we didn’t play well enough.”
Erasmus believes Sunday’s encounter will stand the Boks in good stead when they defend their Rugby World Cup title in Australia next year.
“Australia are a good team and they’ve definitely improved a lot. They played at home and they’re the World Cup hosts next year,” he said.
‘We’ll know a little bit more about each other’
“We might meet them in a vital play-off game, and it was nice to get a taste of them tonight. When we play them next year, we’ll know a little bit more about each other.
“I’m not going to say it was a case of lessons learned, but I think it was a valuable experience.”
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Meanwhile, Esterhuizen, who became the Boks’ 68th captain in this clash, did not hide his disappointment after the loss.
“It was pretty intense. At one stage, we were concentrating on getting one try, then getting another, and taking it step by step. But like we said, we should never have been in that situation,” he said.
“We put ourselves there. I think the fans and people watching the game really enjoyed it, but we should be better and not get into such situations.”
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