Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Springboks have their backs against the wall and coach Rassie Erasmus has asked his charges to lick their wounds and bounce back strongly in the second Rugby Championship Test match against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.
Erasmus said they must right the wrongs of the disappointing 38-22 loss at Ellis Park last weekend where they forfeited a 22-5 lead at half-time by allowing the visitors to run in five tries in the second half for the famous victory.
Erasmus, who will announce the match squad on Tuesday to be captained by centre Jesse Kriel, said they gave away easy tries and must improve at the breakdown.
“Everyone in the group agrees on what we have to do, what we need to get right this week and our focus will go into that at training,” said Erasmus.
“There is a lot of frustration and disappointment but we know what we did wrong. They totally outplayed us, they scored some tries that were not even from phases and they gave us a hiding at the breakdown.
“We have our backs against the wall and we know we have to make it right.”
Erasmus said the humbling experience has galvanised the squad.
“Everyone is embarrassed and disappointed but I believe that will make us tighter as a team. One tends to learn a lot from a defeat and that’s surely something we will carry into this week.”
Speedy winger Canan Moodie said they know what to do to bounce back stronger.
“Everyone is extremely disappointed and we are hurting, but as coach Rassie said we know what we have to do. This week we need to stack the positives and ensure we stick to our plans on the day.”
The versatile back, who can also play at centre, added: “Our defence has to complement our attack and our kicking game has to be spot on this week, so this is an important week for us.”
Last week’s defeat came at a loss with captain Siya Kolisi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Edwill van der Merwe ruled out this weekend with injuries.
There is some good news as Cheslin Kolbe and Damian de Allende have recovered from their niggles.
“Siya and Kurt-Lee suffered knee injuries, while Pieter-Steph is nursing a concussion and Edwill has an ankle niggle. So, we will make a few changes to the team this week.
“Damian [De Allende] and Cheslin [Kolbe] are back from injury and their experience is always valuable to the team.”
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