Coach Rassie Erasmus has backed the Springboks to bounce back from Saturday’s 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
The result gives the tourists a 1-0 lead in the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, which moves to Cape Town for the second encounter.
The teams will then return to Johannesburg for the third Test at FNB Stadium before concluding the series in Baltimore, USA.
Asked whether the Ellis Park defeat was “catastrophic” for the Boks, Erasmus pointed to previous setbacks from which his team had recovered.
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“We’ve been in many catastrophic situations in our lives,” he said. “We lost the first Test against the British & Irish Lions [in 2021]; everybody said that was catastrophic. We lost the first pool game against New Zealand in the [2019] World Cup; everybody said that was catastrophic.
“So we’ve been in a lot of catastrophic situations in our lives.”
The Boks went on to win the 2019 World Cup, and fought back to claim a famous 2-1 series victory against the Lions.
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“Obviously, we’re now in a position where, if we want to win the series, we have to win three games on the trot,” Erasmus added.
“Without a doubt, it puts them in a very good position, which they thoroughly deserve.
“Now we have to go to Cape Town and if we win there then it’s all level, but we still have to win three matches in a row.
“So I wouldn’t say catastrophic because there is a way out, and that’s winning three matches on the trot.”
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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Rassie: Bok loss not catastrophic appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has backed the Springboks to bounce back from Saturday’s 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
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