South Africa happy to be ‘back on the horse’ after win over Australia
CAPE TOWN :South Africa were far from convincing against Australia in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash, but for coach Rassie Erasmus, victory after a shock defeat one week ago was the key outcome.
“Sometimes it’s just about getting back on the horse,” he said after the 30-22 triumph at the Cape Town Stadium marked the Springboks’ first success in the competition.
They lost 38-22 to the Wallabies in Johannesburg in the opening game of the southern hemisphere championship one week ago.
“I don't think this was a great performance, but when we lose a game, everybody starts analysing the squad and the passion of the fans comes through. So I think given the kind of pressure we were under this weekend, we did well.
“Australia had the shackles off, the pressure off after they got five points against us at altitude (in Johannesburg). We had to look each other in the eye and we got the balance between kicking and running better. There’s always pressure at home, so for me, bouncing back after last week was important. We made 10 changes to our starting line-up, so this helped to show we have squad depth.”
Erasmus was desperate to avoid Boks falling behind in their bid to keep their Rugby Championship title.
“The big thing for us today was to try and win and not let them get a bonus point. But we have to go to New Zealand and beat them there twice if we want to have any chance of winning the Rugby Championship.”
South Africa play the All Blacks in Auckland on Sept. 6 and Wellington a week later.
“This was a good dry run, but New Zealand will be a step up. Dealing with the pressure will help us and pull us all together for the trip," said the South Africa coach.
“You lose a bit of belief when you lose, but we’re back, we have log points now,” Erasmus added.
New Zealand play their second match of this year’s Rugby Championship later on Saturday against Argentina in Buenos Aires, having won 41-24 in Cordoba last week.
(Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
