‘Springboks are far from perfect’
Despite the Springboks impressive victory over Scotland, there are still a lot of improvements to be made before their showdown against the world’s top ranked side, Ireland.
SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has given his verdict on the Springboks following their 15-point win in their Rugby World Cup campaign opener against Scotland.
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The Springboks pulled off a defensive masterclass to ultimately secure a 18-3 triumph over Scotland to get their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start.
They next face Romania, followed by the all-important showdown against Ireland, the current No 1-ranked team in the world, and will then close out the pool stages with against Tonga.
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RASSIE HAS A MOUTHFUL TO SAY ABOUT THE TEAM
Looking ahead to the challenges await the Springboks in the coming weeks, Rassie Erasmus has warned the South African Test side against getting too wrapped up in the result from their opening game.
“It was obviously far from a perfect performance, but we think we have a solid foundation to work from,” he said.
“The Romania match is the most important one next, not just to get the result, but to improve enough to really give the No 1 team in the world [Ireland] a go,” Erasmus explained about the Springboks’ Test against the Irish.
“If we manage to win that one, then it will be a really interesting last round because I think Scotland have the ability to give Ireland a go. They are used to playing against them in the United Rugby Championship and the Six Nations.”
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LOTS TO LIKE ABOUT SPRINGBOKS’ OPENING EFFORT
With Scotland being limited to only one penalty goal for their efforts in the hot and humid Marseille conditions, coach Jacques Nienaber praised the effort by his charges in that department.
“Defence is beautiful for me,” said Nienaber. “All credit to Scotland. They play with great speed and innovation on attack, so we had to be really sharp to cut out their options.
“The players worked very hard off and on the field this past week to keep them at bay.”
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Commenting on the effective Springbok scrum, captain Siya Kolisi said: “It was quite clear we didn’t start the way we normally start, and at half time we agreed that we should be better because the set pieces are very important for us.”
On the injury front Nienaber revealed that lock Eben Etzebeth had suffered a shoulder injury, but he said they would only know the extent of the injury following a thorough medical assessment.
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