Rassie Erasmus reveals the pleasing aspect of Springboks’ win over Argentina which ‘wasn’t pretty and perfect’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi (inset).
Rassie Erasmus admitted that the Springboks’ display was not perfect in Saturday’s 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires but hailed the character shown by his players in the match.
The encounter marked the return to action of several injured players and the sides were level at 10-10 at half-time before a converted Cameron Hanekom try broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute.
That proved to be the match-winning score as the Springboks managed to close out the game despite a massive fightback from their hosts and Erasmus was happy that his troops emerged victorious.
‘We looked leg-weary early on’
“Our focus was purely on beating Argentina today, and we had a tough day out there,” he said. “We looked leg-weary early on, gave up a lot of territory, and made errors which we knew were likely with seven or eight players having played very little rugby in the last six or seven weeks.
“I always expected us to look disjointed, having left 15 players back in South Africa.
“Argentina play a different style of rugby, and the stadium is genuinely intimidating, but it’s a win although it wasn’t pretty and perfect. That said, we are happy with the result and with the way we ground it out.”
Erasmus added: “They play a similarly physical game to us, and we’ve always struggled to get on top of them physically, but to concede only one try, which came from an offload we probably should have stopped, tells me our defence was largely intact.
“Our discipline was also relatively good, but what we need to sort out is our attack. A number of players were short on game time returning from injury but getting them through 80 minutes was always going to affect our fluency.
“The positive is that we got them through the game.”
Erasmus had special praise for the fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude displayed by Los Pumas for the full 80 minutes and identified one particularly pleasing aspect of his team’s victory.
“I have to give credit to them. They are a very proud rugby nation, and I always say they’ve got that same fight in them that we have back home,” he said.
“They’re passionate, and they never stop. What pleased me today was that we won the physical battle.
“We never expected a comfortable win for either side. In fact, we always thought it would be a tight match, and to win by a narrow margin, when they were pushing hard for a result in their own right to the end, tells you it could easily have gone the other way, or finished level.
“So, we’re pleased with where we are because we were never going to come here and run away with it.”
Of the character the Springboks showed to grind out their win, Erasmus said: “We’re not happy with the performance itself, but we’re happy with the character the players showed.
“A lot of the group haven’t played in a while, and we had a few younger players in this squad who brought real energy. So, we’re not saying we played well, but we’re very happy with how hard we ground this one out.
‘This is exactly the kind of match you learn from’
“The lesson is that knockout-level rugby is always close. Rugby World Cup pool games can sometimes be a bit more comfortable, but this is exactly the kind of match you learn from.
“Even if we had drawn tonight, we would have still learned a lot about grinding out a result with a crowd going wild, and Argentina were strong in those closing minutes.
“For us to stay calm through that, even without playing our best rugby, tells me we’re handling pressure a little better than before.”
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, who was forced off the field with a hamstring injury in the 24th minute, echoed his coach’s sentiments about the force Los Pumas have become, and he was also impressed with how his Boks rose to the challenge.
“I think, going back to last week, everyone said Argentina’s earlier result (against England) didn’t count for much, but even a draw would have earned them a good return,” he said.
“We have a huge amount of respect for them, and we could easily have lost this game. Home or away, they’re one of the toughest teams we play all year. I thought it was going to be a real battle, and we were fortunate to come through it.”
The Springboks will make the journey back to South Africa in two groups on Sunday and Monday where they will join up with the rest of the squad in Johannesburg.
The world champions’ focus will now shift to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks with the first Test between the arch-rivals set to take place at Ellis Park on August 22.
