Boks rue costly mistakes in Salta

The Argentinians outplayed the Springboks for large parts of the game to hang on for an historic 26-24 win – their first on home soil against the Boks.

The South Africans did show glimpses of what they can do with ball in hand when things did go their way, but for most of the game, costly mistakes on attack and on defence, poor decision making and poor communication blighted their game. 

"First of all I would like to congratulate Argentina on their victory," Springbok head coach Allister Coetzee told reporters after the game.

"They put us under pressure and we made some crucial mistakes and they took their opportunities better than us. 

"The one positive was the way we came back in the second half, but obviously we are very disappointed with the many individual mistakes we made."

Converting pressure into points is something the Boks have been struggling with all season and it was again evident in Salta. 

They failed to capitalise on a number of try-scoring opportunities in the Argentinian half, while Elton Jantjies and Morne Steyn were unable to convert a few crucial penalty kicks at goal. 

"We had enough opportunities to build scoreboard pressure, but we did not take those opportunities. 

"I am not singling out any players, but at Test level you must take your opportunities. If you get close to the tryline you must finish it and we did not do that today," Coetzee added.

The Springboks next face the Wallabies in Brisbane before they meet the mighty All Blacks in Christchurch and Coetzee admitted that they have a lot of hard work ahead of them

"The defeat is hurting and the Springboks will never be satisfied with a loss. We will regroup and work hard to improve as a team so that we can be ready for the next Test against Australia in Brisbane," said Coetzee.

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