Rassie Erasmus rates Springboks’ ‘far from perfect’ win out of 10 as focus shifts to All Blacks
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and an inset of Ox Nche and Kwagga Smith.
Rassie Erasmus was under no illusions that the Springboks need to improve their performance despite the victory over the Wallabies in Cape Town.
The 30-22 victory over Australia means that South Africa are up and running in the Rugby Championship following their opening day defeat to the Wallabies at Ellis Park.
Canan Moodie, Kwagga Smith and Eben Etzebeth all crossed for tries for the hosts, with Handre Pollard’s flawless kicking performance steering the side over the line, with Wallabies playmaker James O’Connor missing three late shots at goal.
Rassie’s verdict
The defeat in Johannesburg put the Boks on the back foot for the clash in Cape Town, and while not convinced by the overall showing of his team, the head coach was pleased to be on the winning end of the result.
“Probably the scoreboard,” Erasmus replied when he was asked what the highlight of the match for him was.
“We as a group didn’t underestimate Australia at all. We said last week that after those first 22 points, it put the whole world into a lull on how good they are.
“We found them extremely difficult to beat, like the Lions did in their three Test matches. For us, O’Connor missed two vital kicks to be within seven points, which would have made it a tight few minutes. So after last week, we had won eight on the trot and now, we are 9/10.
“After a loss, you do lose a little bit of belief. The big thing for us today was to try and win and not let them get any bonus points.”
After taking just five points from the opening two matches, the road to defending their Rugby Championship title hasn’t changed for South Africa.
Springboks exact revenge over Wallabies in Cape Town to get Rugby Championship hopes back on track
Focus shifts to New Zealand
Erasmus explained that for them to do that, they’d need to win back-to-back matches in New Zealand, which remains their objective.
“We were always going to have to go to New Zealand and beat them there twice if we were going to win the Rugby Championship,” he added.
“So we are back now, we have log points, they are ahead of us still, but overall, just happy with the win.”
Erasmus expressed his embarrassment in the post-match press conference last week in Johannesburg but was far more upbeat in Cape Town.
Asked to rate his team’s victory out of 10, the head coach gave a far more improved score compared to the disastrous second half at Ellis Park.
“If I were asked that last week, I’d say a 2 or 3 because of the second half,” he explained.
“Overall, for this game, the handling wasn’t great, and the conditions played a role. Their back three was fantastic, and they are really elusive,” he began.
“A win can be a six or seven out of 10; we know it was a far from a perfect performance, but sometimes just getting back on the horse. When we lose a match, people can think there are these massive problems and everyone starts analysing the squad, which is just passionate South African supporters.
“So I think with the kind of pressure that we were under this week, for that, I’ll give the team a seven.”
The Rugby Championship pauses for next week, but Erasmus confirmed that the squad for the tour to New Zealand would be named in the next couple of days.
