Back to 'Grade One' for Boks

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said that his side have to cut out the basic errors that plagued them against Ireland if they are to bounce back.

Despite dominating many areas of the game the Boks failed to make use of their opportunities and were handed a lesson in how to play in wet conditions by a determined Irish side that secured a fairly comfortable 29-15 win in the end.

De Villiers said that the stream of individual errors had been particularly frustrating as they halted any momentum the team was building.

“Each and every player will have to take a hard look at himself, come back on Monday and work harder," he said.

Although there were some encouraging signs such as the dominant set-pieces, De Villiers said that building a platform means nothing if you are not able to capitalise.

“Our standards are higher than what we showed against Ireland and we simply made too many errors. Yes, our first phase play was very good and I thought we dominated the scrums and the line-outs, but we didn’t retain the ball and you can’t play rugby without the ball.”

"We were fine at tactical kicking and in the scrum but we just couldn't hang onto the ball, which you do at Grade One rugby," said the 33-year-old, who was winning his 103rd cap.

The Bok captain admitted that the players themselves will bear responsibility for what was their first defeat in Europe since 2010.

"It is not we played badly but we couldn't hold on to the passes and that is not down to coaching. We as players have to take the responsibility because how we played was not good enough for the Springbok jersey.

"However, you have got to give Ireland credit. They were well prepared and played really well. We'll take this on the chin and be hard on ourselves for a couple of days and then get on with the task ahead," he added.