VIDEO: Bok coach on where it all went wrong in Auckland
REACTION: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber said it was always going to be hard for his team to recover after their slow start against the All Blacks in Auckland.
The Boks were outplayed on their way to a 20-35 defeat at Mount Smart Stadium in Round Two of the Rugby Championship.
After going down 0-17 in 15 minutes and then going into the break at 3-20 down, the Boks showed some fight in the second half with the help of their ‘Bomb Squad’, but the All Blacks just had too much firepower in the closing stages.
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“To sum it up, I think the start wasn’t ideal for us,” said Nienaber.
“In the first 20 minutes, we struggled to get into the game because of poor discipline.
“We gave away four penalties in a row in the first quarter and we made a lot of mistakes
“Errors put us under pressure and against a quality side like New Zealand, they capitalised on that and then we played catch-up rugby for the rest of the game.”
Nienaber said that his team’s poor start was a lesson they can learn from going into the World Cup later this year.
“You can’t start like that. You can’t start with that many penalties and errors. I think some of them were unforced from our side and some from pressure that they [All Blacks] exerted on us.
“If you’re going to play catch-up rugby in the World Cup, it will be tough to get a foothold.
“I must say I am proud of the guys with how we came back.
“It was 3-20 at half-time, so we scored 17 points in the second half and we actually got back into it, but unfortunately we let it slip in the first 20 [minutes].”
Nienaber added: “Maybe it was a little bit of over-eagerness. Maybe some of them haven’t played for a while, so that is why we tried to get the balance right.
“I thought the guys who came on in the second half were a little bit more battle-hardened, but I am not looking for any excuses. We were not good enough in the first 20, but we battled our way into it.”
On his team’s defence, Nienaber said: “Defensively, we weren’t good and I think we missed too many tackles.
“I think in that first five minutes we missed six or seven tackles and we struggled to handle their high balls and those areas are supposed to be two of our strong points.”
@rugby365com
