‘Hurt’ Erasmus says Boks will look to bounce back in Nelspruit

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said they were hurting after their nail-biting defeat against Argentina in the penultimate round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in Santigo del Estero on Saturday night and that they would take their travel day on Sunday to get over the defeat before regrouping on Monday for what is now a competition final in Nelspruit next weekend.

Springbok captain Salmaan Moerat was equally honest in his assessment of the test, which Argentina won by 29-28, and said the performance was simply not good enough.

“It hurts a lot,” said Erasmus.

“It’s putting a positive spin on things to say the match in Mbombela could be fitting as a final to the competition because we must first get over this result.

“We have to point fingers at ourselves as coaches and management too, but that said, we have a chance to redeem ourselves next week and to finish the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on a high note.”

Erasmus also gave the Pumas credit for their performance: “It was a great match by Argentina, while we made crucial mistakes at vital times, so all credit to them, they deserved the win.

“They knew they had a chance to win the competition with a victory, and you could see they were going for the bonus-point, and they really brought it to us.

“I definitely think the momentum shifted when we received the yellow card (to Kurt-Lee Arendse), so it’s going to be a tough match at Mbombela Stadium next week.”

The Bok coach refused to place the blame on replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok, whose penalty goal attempt went wide in the last minute: “If we didn’t miss the penalty kick in the end, there would have been smiles all around. But if you look at the game, there were a few things that didn’t go our way.

“Our lineout didn’t function as well as we would have liked, but there were also a lot of other things we could have done better that would have ensured that the match didn’t come down to that kick, so we have a lot to work on next week.”

A disappointed Moerat added: “There were parts of the game when we put them under pressure, and after the yellow card we took our foot off the pedal. Simply said, it was not good enough from us out there.

“Argentina are a tough team to play at home, and as we said in the week, if you do not pitch up fully, they can punish you, and they showed that.”

Erasmus admitted that after their strong start to the game, it was important to build on that momentum, but he said the yellow card to Arendse for a dangerous tackle was the turning point in the game.

“We started well and I’m always nervous when we start well because we generally tend to fight back hard,” said Erasmus.

“But we should have put them away early on. That said, they did well to exploit the yellow card, and that’s where the momentum swung.”

The Pumas moved up to 14 points on the standings following their victory, while the Boks, who got a losing bonus point, are now on 19.

Should the Boks win the competition, it would mark the first time they lift the trophy since 2019, while it also cap off a memorable series in which they won the Nelson Mandela Challenge plate Against Australia and the Freedom Cup against New Zealand.

Erasmus announced that the players who were rested for the Argentina leg of the tournament would rejoin the squad in Nelspruit. The Springboks travelled back to South Africa on a flight with Los Pumas directly after the match and will resume their full training programme on Monday.

© SA Rugby