Durban — The Springboks were unsure whether to laugh or cry after their 38-21 victory over the Pumas in Durban that was considerably short of the 39 they needed to win the Rugby Championship but was a comprehensive victory nonetheless.
Coach Jacques Nienaber said his team had given their all to haul in the 39 points they needed after the All Blacks had beaten the Wallabies 40-14 earlier in the day.
“When we saw what was required to win the Championship, we all bought into it,” the coach said. “We agreed to give a full go, and we did. We cannot be faulted for our effort. We had a plan and I reckon we were on course until the 35th minute when we gave away possession (in a lineout) in our half and they eventually scored seconds before the hooter.”
The Pumas then scored just after half time and the 39-point advantage the Boks needed was a forlorn ambition from that point, but captain Kolisi said the resolve his team showed simply to win the game, in the end, was significant.
“Our main objective was to win the Rugby Championship and we did not manage to do that but an important thing we take out of the campaign is that we finished with three wins in a row,” Kolisi said.
“The loss in Adelaide (to the Wallabies) hurt us and we got together and promised ourselves that we would win the rest of our games.
“Consistency has been an issue for us and to have won in Sydney and then back-to-back against the Pumas is something to be proud of, and we obviously want to build on this as we look ahead to the World Cup.”
On that subject, Nienaber admitted that the Boks have to work on their killer instinct if they are to defend their crown in France next year.
“In both our games against the Pumas we had dominance in the first half, then in the second made errors that put us under pressure, so maybe that is a bit of a killer instinct issue,’ The coach said. “We have to learn to not take out foot off the gas and to also maintain our discipline.
“These are important lessons we must learn as we turn our attention to the end-of-year tour to Europe.”