Nienaber at a loss for words after another horror show
REACTION: South Africa captain Siyamthanda Kolisi and coach Jacques Nienaber both spoke of the need for some ‘serious introspection’ after their 17-25 Rugby Championship loss to Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.
It was another horror show for the Springboks, their third loss of the year in a game where their gargantuan pack gave them a surfeit of possession.
However, they conceded twice as many turnovers as the opposition and failed to take control of the game while the opposition had a player in the sin bin.
Dave Rennie’s Wallabies outscored the visitors by three tries to two and kicked two penalty goals to one from the Springboks, which saw them seal the victory.
The Bok brains trust were searching for answers, saying they will ‘go back and review the game’.
(Article continues below …)
“We will have a good review of the game,” Nienaber said, adding: “We will take the lessons learned and ensure that we are up for next week’s clash in Sydney.
“It was frustrating how many opportunities we created but didn’t convert into points.
“It is something that has happened in our last few games, so we will work hard to correct that.
“We were in Australia’s 22 about 13 times, if not more, and we didn’t come away with points a lot of the time, and when they were in our 22, they used their chances well and got the rewards for it.
“We will have a good review of the game, take the lessons learned, and ensure that we are up for next week’s clash in Sydney.
“The nice thing is that we will have another chance against Australia in seven days and hopefully we will be able to turn things around.”
However, Nienaber was unable to explain why his team continues to make the same mistakes
“I’m not sure,” Nienaber said, when @rugby365com asked him about the team’s failure to covert – especially when they have numerical superiority, while the opposition has a man in the sin bin.
He again said it may have been ‘naive tactics’ from the coaching panel in the loss to the All Blacks at Ellis Park a fortnight ago.
“Tonight not sure about it,” he said in his post-match reaction in Adelaide on Saturday.
“I’ll have to have a good look at it,” Nienaber added – admitting the Wallabies were more clinical in putting on the pressure when they went a man up after scrumhalf Francois de Klerk was yellow carded for making contact with rival Nic White’s head.
The Bok skipper, Kolisi, said they will work hard this week to rectify their shortcoming ahead of next week’s return match in Sydney.
The last time South Africa won against the Wallabies in Australia was a 38-12 victory in Brisbane nine years ago.
“It just didn’t go our way,” Kolisi said of the Adelaide loss.
“We camped on their try line for much of the first half but we couldn’t take the opportunities.
“They played really well from the get-go, and the game is about small margins – every opportunity they got they took it.”
Handling errors proved an issue for the Boks, and it wasn’t lost on Kolisi.
“I thought the Wallabies played really well, and they took the opportunities they created, whereas we didn’t,” the Bok skipper said.
“We could certainly have been more clinical, but their defence was good and they did well to get a few crucial steals.
“Our last passes didn’t go to hand, but as coach Jacques always says, no one intentionally knocks on the ball.
“Our set pieces were good, but we can always get better, so we will go back and review the game, and we are looking forward to the next clash against them.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
