'Not perfect': Rassie rates Springboks' victory out of 10
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus knows that a lot needs to improve despite his team bouncing back in the Rugby Championship with a win over the Wallabies in Cape Town.
The Boks recorded a 30-22 victory in the Round Two encounter after they went down 22-38 to the same opponents a week earlier at Ellis Park.
Both teams scored three tries in Cape Town; however, Bok flyhalf Handre Pollard contributed 15 points with the boot, while James O’Connor failed to land a conversion and two penalties in the final quarter.
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“I don’t think we underestimated Australia,” Erasmus told reporters after the match.
“We felt that they were extremely difficult to beat, like the Lions did in those two Test matches.
“O’Connor missed two vital penalties which would have made it very tight in the last few minutes.
“We won eight on the trot and then lost one, so you do lose a bit of belief. The big thing for us today [Saturday] was to try and win and not let them get a bonus point.
“Now we have to go to New Zealand and beat them twice if we want to have any chance [of retaining the Rugby Championship title].
“We’re back, we have log points. They [Wallabies] are ahead of us on the log, but overall, we are just happy with the win.
Erasmus was also asked to give his side’s victory a rating out of 10.
“Last week’s performance was a two or three because of that second half,” said Erasmus.
“Overall, for this game, the handling wasn’t great, but I do think conditions played a role.
“I think their back three was fantastic on their side, and they were really elusive, so I think a win can be a six or a seven.
“We know it wasn’t a perfect performance, but sometimes it’s just about getting back onto the horse.
“People tend to think when we lose a game, there are all these massive problems and everybody starts analysing the squads, which shows how passionate the supporters are.
“So, I think with the kind of pressure we were under this weekend, I will give the team a seven.”
The Springboks will take a 36-man squad on tour next week for Tests in Auckland and Wellington.
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