The Springboks are irritated by their “big hiding” last week, and Rassie Erasmus hopes his starting XV does a better job for the bench to make an impact this Saturday.
New Zealand have replaced the Boks as the world’s No 1-ranked team after a 33-16 win at Ellis Park, with the 17-point margin earning the All Blacks 1.75 ranking points and costing Erasmus’ men the same amount.
Speaking during Monday’s media session, the Bok boss accepted that the Kiwis deserved their victory, but felt the scoreline did not fully reflect the contest after periods of dominance and as much as 60% territory.
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“I do think the scoreboard doesn’t 100% reflect it. We had stages where I felt we were dominant … but it’s true, we didn’t convert those opportunities,” he said.
“Most of the things we inflicted on ourselves, and that’s frustrating. We are irritated with each other inside the camp.
“Because, yes, they are a very good team and No 1 in the world now, and we know that we are the team that is chasing them to try and get the No 1 spot back again.”
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Erasmus, who named a rejigged bench and run-on XV, highlighted the starters and coaches last week not creating the launchpad for the replacements to finish the job.
“We didn’t get what we wanted from the bench, because the guys who started didn’t convert … our plans didn’t work, and that’s on me,” he said.
“They, and I’m including the coaches there, didn’t give those guys the platform to actually go on and finish those things. They had to chase the game.”
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With the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series now 1-0 going into this week’s Cape Town leg, Erasmus said there was no point dwelling on what happened in Joburg, but the Boks needed to address where New Zealand had been superior.
“They imprinted their game plan on us, and that’s where they were better than us,” he said. “For all intents and purposes, for them it was a beautiful game; for us, it was for 60 minutes a really well-contested game, and then they ran away with us.”
Erasmus felt the Boks had done enough in the first 60 minutes, including at scrum time, in the maul and on defence, but the All Blacks made the most of their opportunities.
“I know all of us sit here, we’ve got a big hiding of 17 points,” he said. “But then when they got the two, three opportunities, like New Zealand most of the years in the past when we played them, they converted.”
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Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
The post Rassie: We want our No 1 spot back appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The Springboks are irritated by their “big hiding” last week, and Rassie Erasmus hopes his starting XV does a better job for the bench to make an impact this Saturday.
The post Rassie: We want our No 1 spot back appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
