Erasmus hands Boks timely boost as he delivers blunt verdict
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus had some good news despite the poor showing of his charges against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
According to the coach captain Siya Kolisi will return for the second test of the Rivalry series in Cape Town next weekend.
He confirmed that the flanker is on course for Saturday while he was also confident that winger Cheslin Kolbe should be ready to take the field despite limping off in the 62nd minute.
While he was satisfied with the performance of Paul de Villiers, who tasted his first clash with the All Blacks in only his fourth outing in a Springbok jersey, the chances are that the captain will retain the No.6 jersey if his recovery remains on track.
“I thought Paul played really well. I know Siya is back next week.”
*Continues below…
Erasmus said the result was a wake-up call.
“There were just so many things that we did wrong and that New Zealand did right – so I’m not going to say we learnt a lot of things from this match.
“There would have been a lot of things we’d have to put right even if we had scratched through this match with a one point win.
“We didn’t play well. Against a class team like New Zealand, if you don’t convert, they give you a proper hiding.
“With hindsight, there were a lot of things we didn’t convert; I think there were two or three big moments when we let the game go away from us. Not because we wanted to or because we wanted to make those errors but because New Zealand forced those on to us by being really intense and sharp.”
He was full of praise for the way in which the All Blacks managed to nulify the Boks when they were in the red zone with a dismantling tactic they were not ready for.
“It’s probably the thing New Zealand are great at. They really know how to stop you when inside their 22 in different ways; be it stripping of the ball, contesting for the ball on the ground, harassing the nine within the laws, and we couldn’t handle that.”
Register your interest to receive priority updates on RWC27 ticket releases. Don't miss out, stay in the loop!
