Boks were clueless on attack
The home side lacked creativity on attack and often ran across the field without making too much progress against a plucky Irish defence.
They also spurned a number of try-scoring opportunities in the 20-26 loss because of poor decision making.
"We definitely created opportunities," said Warren Whiteley, who joined the action off the bench in the second half.
"There were a lot of opportunities to score. We probably ran across field too much and did not straighten well enough.
"It is difficult to say if that is due to the time we had together, but we are definitely going to work on that this week. There was space, but we just did not exploit it properly.
"They implemented a drift defence and we did not straighten enough."
Whiteley said that they will need to learn from their mistakes if they are to beat the Irish in the second match of the three-Test series in Johannesburg next weekend.
"It is a massive learning curve for me individually and for the whole team. The most important thing is to stay tight as a team and keep believing.
"We know that there will be disappointments, but you need to get back on that bus and you need to keep working hard. You got to be optimistic. Once you get into a negative frame of mind, it will just get worse.
"For us it is really important to review it [the loss] and work hard," Whiteley added.
The match was Allister Coetzee's first as Springbok coach and Whiteley said the team was bitterly disappointed to let him down.
"You need to believe in what you do and you need to stick to it. Coach Allister spoke about that last night [Saturday].
"We believe in his vision and his plan and we are going to work extremely hard.
"We know that we let him down in his first Test match at Newlands and we let ourselves down and we let the country down. We are extremely disappointed and we need to rectify it as players," said Whiteley.
Meanwhile, Konrad von Hagen, the Springbok medical doctor, confirmed on Sunday that Patrick Lambie will rest this coming week and he will be monitored by the Bok medical team after being concussed during the match.
Von Hagen said even though the player's x-rays showed no abnormality, Lambie will however undergo further scans as a precaution.
Lambie was injured in a tackle that saw Irish flank CJ Stander being red-carded for dangerous play in the first half of the match. A decision on a replacement for Lambie will be made in due course.
Von Hagen said the rest of the Bok players are in good health.
"They are all fine, with just your normal bumps and bruises. Apart from Patrick, the full squad will be training on Monday in Johannesburg," explained the Bok team doctor.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
