Bok defence to 'put it right'
The Boks conceded four tries in their first-ever defeat to the Pumas in Durban, with two of them coming directly from set-pieces, and McFarland said that while they are hurting they are looking forward to the chance to set the record straight on Saturday.
"It is not a performance we are proud of and normally in international rugby sometimes you have to wait months to put it right, the great thing is we go to Argentina on Saturday and we have a chance to put it right.
"We had a harsh day yesterday [Monday] with the players from a coaching point of view and a players point of view," he said.
The defence coach admitted that there has been some serious introspection within the camp in the last few days, and tried to put a positive spin on the situation by pointing out that it is better to learn some hard lessons now than at the World Cup.
"There were a lot of words said that it wasn't a performance that was acceptable. I feel for the coach because he takes full responsibility as we all do. We have got a chance to put it right on Saturday and we will.
"We will fix those areas and it is better to happen now than to happen at the World Cup," he said.
He explained that Argentina's first try at Kings Park featured some holding at the line-out which was not picked up by the match officials, while the try from the attacking scrum was just down to a 'well-worked move'.
"There was a fair amount of holding in the first try, which at the end of the day you are reliant on the referee and touch judge to pick up but they didn't. That is something we have got to be aware of and not let ourselves be held when we leave set-pieces.
"On the scrum on the line it was just a well-worked move that they managed to isolate a defender so credit to them," he said.
McFarland took some heart from the improved showing in the second half, coming after the players got something of a tonge-lashing at the break.
"What I was pleased to see was that we weren't quite there in the first half, everyone has alluded to that and it was not acceptable. But I thought the way we responded in the second half when we actually won the second half was credit to the guys.
"There was a massive difference in attitude from the players from the first half to the second half with the harsh words that were said at half-time," he said.
The buzzwords for the Springboks on defence are 'physicality' and 'workrate', but this week McFarland will surely put some emphasis on things like technique and organisation, which seemed to be lacking at times at Kings Park.
If they are exposed on defence again by a Pumas side that is not known for its attacking creativity then that will obviously be a major concern ahead of a World Cup, which as the cliche goes is something that is won by defence.
By Michael de Vries, in Durban
