Rassie Erasmus has stated that the Springboks will make changes for the second Test against the All Blacks following the 24-17 loss at Eden Park.
The Springboks boss rued the ‘stupid errors’ that cost his side, and alluded to the coaching staff making mistakes with their selections for the match after predicting better weather in Auckland.
South Africa quickly went into a 14-0 deficit after two early tries scored by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan, with Handre Pollard adding just three points in the first half.
While the Springboks improved in the second period, with Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach scoring, they left it too late for a comeback and were denied a draw when Ardie Savea pilfered over for a turnover.
Stupid errors
Speaking to reporters after the match, Erasmus rued the defensive lapses of his team, stating that the two tries that the All Blacks scored had nothing to do with the system implemented by defence coach Jerry Flannery.
“Every time it’s just another stupid error that we make. It’s not like we’re consistently making the same stupid error; it is always something different. A different facet of the game or player,” he said.
“As I always say, we pick the players, we do the defensive structures; Jerry can’t do anything about the first and second tries that were scored. It was all on the two guys making the tackles.
“So it’s frustrating, and maybe it’s got to do with team selection, and we as coaches and management must put up our hands and say ‘Hey, we’re getting it wrong combinations-wise’. Because if we got it right all the time, we would be number one in the world forever.”
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Much of the pre-match build-up centred around the Springboks’ tactical kicking game and how they would put the All Blacks under pressure, particularly with Scott Robertson’s men struggling in that area of the game in recent matches.
However, Erasmus felt that New Zealand kicked smartly and got the upper hand in that facet of the game.
“I think they were better than us with the kicking game. They did it as much as we did, but much lower; you could see it was like half punts in between the full-back and the first line of the defence, which was clever, especially in the weather,” he said.
“They were well prepared for our kicking game and thought it was two teams who were desperate to win, and at the end, we wouldn’t have won the game, but we were close to a draw, that’s not any consolation.
“They were much better, but it was two desperate teams, and I think we both went to very conservative play, even though theirs were from the kicking game and one great line up move at the back. Our tries were a bit of a rumble near their try-line.”
Changes coming
Next week, the two sides face off yet again as the action moves to Sky Stadium in Wellington in round three of the Rugby Championship.
Looking ahead to that fixture, Erasmus states that he will make changes to the team, straying from his initial plan to select similar line-ups for both matches. He is also hoping for better conditions after getting it completely wrong in Auckland.
“We got the weather wrong; we thought it was going to rain the whole week and dry up today, and it was the other way around. So, let’s see what the weather is like in Wellington. But we’ll definitely make some changes in our team for next week,” he remarked.
“Before this game, we thought we’d go with more or less the same team next week, but we’ll make a few changes.”
Erasmus also congratulated the All Blacks on maintaining their unbeaten run at Eden, which stretches back to 1994.
“If we had won, we would probably have mentioned the history, but they managed to maintain their record at Eden Park and well done to them for that,” said Erasmus.
“It was a great challenge for us, but we didn’t achieve it. That said, we have another chance to face them next week, and that will be our focus next week.”
Asked if there were positives they could take from the clash, he added: “I suppose the one positive is that we are still in the race for the Rugby Championship title, and if one looks at the match, we played badly for 15 minutes, and as the game progressed, we got better.
“We are very disappointed, but we played the No 1 team in the world, and we have to put everything into trying to win next week.”
Springboks captain Jesse Kriel, echoed those sentiments: “We always knew New Zealand wanted a fast start to the game, but we are still in the Rugby Championship competition, as Rassie said, and we have another chance to face them next week.
“We played badly for a few minutes, and it cost us, which is very disappointing, but we’ll have another go next week, and hopefully things will go better for us.”