Battered Boks draw the laager
The wounded Springboks believe they can still win the World Cup, despite the humiliation inflicted on them by the defeat at the hands of Japan.
"Our backs are against the wall right now," star flank Francois Louw told a media briefing at the team's training camp in Birmingham.
"We have three tough games ahead of us," he said of the encounters with Samoa (in Birmingham on Saturday), Scotland (in Newcastle on October 3) and the United States (London, October 7).
"We are not going to underestimate any team in the World Cup. I don't think we ever did."
But the 30-year-old added: "Losing a game doesn't mean you are down and out."
And Louw, who scored one of the Springboks four tries – which garnered them two bonus points, one for four tries and another for losing by seven points or less – was defiant, in the face of the sceptics, when asked whether South Africa believed they could win their third World Cup in England.
"I think we are in a position where we have to feel confident about that," he replied at a media briefing.
"We need to pull together. We know what needs to be done. I believe we have the ability to pull back together, to pull tight, to look forward and deflect any negativity."
Players and coaches say the Springboks have carefully analysed what went wrong in the dramatic Pool B game in Brighton on Saturday decided by a try in the dying seconds.
After the biggest upset in World Cup history, South Africa have vowed to come roaring back in their game against Samoa in Birmingham on Saturday.
"There are six games left all the way to the final. We'll take each game as it comes and this week our focus is on Samoa," said Louw.
"We need to pull together. We know what needs to be done. I believe we have the ability to pull back together, to pull tight, to look forward and deflect any negativity.
"We've hit a bit of a stumbling block. It's time to regroup and pull together in a positive way. Our focus is to climb the pool and finish top.
"It's still in our hands, still in our grasp to go through the pool games and qualify for the play-offs.
South Africa aim to prove they are one of the leading rugby nations, Louw said.
"We know we can produce. We know the brand of rugby we can play. We can beat any side in the world.
"We need to win every single game now. It has not been a great moment for South Africa and South African rugby history. It is what it is and we have to face up to reality and turn it around."
