JOHANNESBURG — We’ve got to get used to Bok coach Rassie Erasmus doing things differently. Take his post-match comments after the Springboks’ embarrassing defeat against the Pumas in Mendoza on Saturday. It’s not unfair to describe the result as embarrassing, because that’s the word Erasmus used. We’re used to the losing coach talking about “the positives” which the players would take out of a thrashing, or the “building process” that the team is going through. Not Erasmus. No positives for him. No excuses. Only an admission that the Boks couldn’t shape up when it mattered. Even the official SA Rugby media release wasn’t watering down his damning comments. Erasmus tends to say things in public with a slight smile on his face. You’d have paid money to see what could only have been a thunderous demeanour when he confronted his players after the match. If he was this honest in front of the journalists, how much more frank was he in the confines of the dressing room? Whether or not his bluntness has an impact on the players will only be clear when the Boks are next in action against Australia in Brisbane in two weeks. – David O’Sullivan
From SARugby
Rassie Erasmus, the SA Rugby Director of Rugby, described the Springboks’ 32-19 defeat to Argentina in the second round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, on Saturday evening (SA time) in Mendoza, as embarrassing.
One week after suffering a 34-21 defeat at the hands of the Springboks in Durban, the resurgent Pumas produced a physical performance to snap an 11-match losing streak in front of an ecstatic crowd at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, following a 27-7 lead at halftime.
Erasmus was brutally honest in his assessment of the Springboks’ poor performance: “It was embarrassing and not the kind of performance you expect to see from the Springboks.
“We made only one change to the starting team from last week, when we dominated them. We have to point the fingers to ourselves, firstly as coaches and then as players, and we will have to fix it.”
Erasmus said the travelling to Argentina was definitely not a factor: “We travelled a day later and in the second half we outplayed them because we were the fresher team.
“We were playing better rugby in the second half but we just didn’t make use of our opportunities.
“I’m not going to look for positives after a performance like that. We have no excuses, we knew exactly what to expect, we prepared for it but we just didn’t handle it,” added Erasmus.
Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi scored his side’s only try in the first half and the Boks delivered a much better performance in the second half.
Lionel Mapoe (replacement wing) scored twice in the right-hand corner after the break for his first tries in the Green and Gold jersey. Mapoe was an early replacement for Makazole Mapimpi, who suffered a knock to the knee.
Argentina outscored the Springboks by four tries to three, with Nicolas Sanchez (flyhalf) instrumental, scoring 17 points courtesy of a try, three conversions, a penalty and a drop goal.
The Springboks return home on Tuesday and the squad will re-assemble on Saturday in Johannesburg, from where they will travel to Brisbane for their next fixture, on 8 September against the Wallabies in the Suncorp Stadium.
Source:Â http://www.sarugby.co.za/article.aspx?category=sarugby/springboks&id=4372234
