AUDIO: Can Rassie fix rattled Boks?
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP: The Springboks could be in for a world of pain, unless they find a solution for the embarrassing implosion they suffered in Mendoza at the weekend.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted he has to “rethink the whole plan” – following the 19-32 loss to Argentina at the weekend.
Erasmus did not hold back in the wake of the worst Bok showing in years – a performance that suggested South Africa has made no progress since the controversial axing of Allister Coetzee late last year.
He admitted that there will be “consequences” for the horror show at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
“Whatever the consequences are – whether players must get dropped or we [coaches] must look at ourselves – we must fix it,” an animated Erasmus said.
“We can’t play like that.”
He said it will require a lot of introspection to find answers to his biggest posers – the reasons for the meltdown in Mendoza.
“It is tough to put your finger on the [exact] reason,” the coach said, adding: “We played like we were in club rugby.”
He admitted some of the younger players got rattled by the brutal onslaught from Los Pumas – a challenge that will become much bigger when they face the Wallabies and All Blacks in the next two rounds.
“[As the] coaching [staff] we must find better plans and the players must execute those plans,” he said, adding that whatever plan they had for the Australia leg of the competition (in Brisbane on September 8) has “gone out the window”.
“We have to win at all cost.
“If we had won in Mendoza, we would have tested a few players.
“Now it is a totally different plan.
“We will do our planning before we fly [to Brisbane] this coming Friday.”
He spoke of the lack of composure among the players and admitted they could be punished worse by the Wallabies and All Blacks.
“We probably wasted 10 scoring opportunities against Los Pumas, but won’t get more than two against New Zealand.”
@rugby365
