Rassie: 'We played ourselves into that hole'
REACTION: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus took full responsibility for his side’s 19-21 defeat to France in Round Five of the Nations Championship on Saturday.
The Boks were uncharacteristically flat-footed and passive on attack, with the scrums and mauls, to an extent, the only shining light in what was an overall underwhelming performance.
*Also read: France end Springboks’ Nations Championship winning run
There were several missed scoring opportunities for South Africa where they could’ve taken control of the game, but failed to make use of the majority of their nine entries inside France’s red zone.
Erasmus described the performance as “tentative” and took full responsibility for why that was the case under the Parisian night lights.
“I mean, the one try France scored was a ball bouncing off a player’s head. I actually felt we defended really well,” Erasmus said in the post-match press conference.
“France kept the ball in hand, and [Antoine] Dupont alongside [Maxime] Lucu and basically their whole team was good tonight [Saturday].
“I really thought we tackled with guts and we kept them out. The disallowed try of Kurt-Lee [Arendse] before halftime would’ve been game on.
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Erasmus added: “With everything that went wrong, we sort of played ourselves into that hole. It wasn’t that France forced us into playing the way we did.
“It was almost like we were a bit tentative tonight, and when something like that happens, it normally comes down to the coaching staff.
“I don’t think the players went out there and tackled their hearts out and being physical and when the opportunity comes decided to be a bit hesitant.
“That is something I have to figure out and work through all night as to why that happened.
“If you look at the week, we only had two training sessions and a six-day turnaround, and it was the same for France; they even played later last Saturday, so they even had a shorter turnaround.
“I don’t think we have anyone to blame but ourselves.”
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Erasmus also lamented the Boks’ lack of discipline after conceding just five penalties against Italy last week.
The Boks conceded 11 penalties against Les Bleus, including a 20-minute red card for Jasper Wiese after a dangerous cleanout and a yellow card for Lood de Jager after a dangerous tackle.
Erasmus admitted the Boks’ indiscipline was their ultimate Achilles heel, which contributed to their defeat to Les Bleus.
“Obviously playing with 14 men is tough; they also received two yellow cards, with the one at the scrum being more technical,” Erasmus told Rugby365.
“Those cards hurt us; it cost us in a big way. I don’t think any of those cards conceded were intentional, but I agree that it should have been cards; we can’t moan about that.
“I don’t think anyone flew in to try and [intentionally] hurt a fellow player. They [France players] didn’t go off for HIA’s [Head Injury Assessments], so I hope they are okay and those hits didn’t cause too much harm to those players.
“I think the penalty count was six to four [in favour of France] at halftime before Jasper was given the [20-minute] red card and then we were under the pump.
“It’s hard to look for positives in a defeat; it’s not nice, but if I have to take a positive out of this match, it would be the effort, grind and pride the players showed.
“After the 30th minute, France didn’t score again, and we did, even if we were down to 14 players for most of the game.
“I guess the frustration is how our discipline cost us, and to lose by two points…to lose by any margin is terrible, but in conclusion, our discipline cost us.”
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