Boks take a hard look at themselves
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said that his team's defeat to Ireland taught them some valuable lessons about what it takes to win in Europe.
Despite dominating the set-pieces, the Boks could not find a way to turn that pressure into points as a stream of basic errors saw them slump to a 29-15 defeat in Dublin on Saturday.
It was their first defeat in the Northern Hemisphere since going down to Scotland in 2010, and although he was disappointed with the result, Meyer said that there were some positives for his team to take from the match a year out from the World Cup.
“We are sorry that we let our country and our supporters down with that performance. Every single defeat hurts.
"However, I'd rather lose one now and see where we're at for the World Cup next year than it to happen then because now I can see where we can adapt and improve," he said.
The Bok coach was impressed with the way Ireland made the most of their opportunities in the conditions to secure what was a comfortable victory in the end.
“The Irish deserve a lot of credit though – they played the conditions better and were tactically superior. We knew it was going to be a tough tussle and we were not good enough on the day.
"Let us not kid ourselves – we played a world class side who nearly beat the All Blacks last year," he said.
Meyer admitted that his side have struggled in wet conditions all year and said that improving their wet-weather play is a priority.
"We have to adapt to different styles of game. You can't play Championship (southern hemisphere) rugby in the ones we had today and we haven't really played well in the wet ball conditions like that all year.
"Although we've evolved in every game we've played against Ireland it is an arm wrestling exercise where you have to wait your moment to open them up," he said.
With another tough assignment against England at Twickenham looming next week, Meyer said that they will be taking a hard look at themselves in order to turn things around quickly.
"We have to take this on the chin and show some character against England, who are a quality side too. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and reflect on what happened out there.
“But we can’t afford to dwell too much on what is in the past. We have a massive game against England at Twickenham on Saturday and we simply have to show a massive improvement because they will be just as tough to beat at home,” he said.
Meyer, who was experiencing just his eighth defeat in 34 tests, said that the yellow card for replacement hooker Adriaan Strauss 14 minutes from the end had halted any momentum they had managed to build having trailed the Irish throughout the game.
"The referee is always right, we're not allowed to say otherwise," said Meyer.
"However, there are no excuses. We could use that as one if we wished to but Ireland were the better side. They outplayed us and outkicked us," he said.
