Johannesburg - A headline in England’s Sunday Times newspaper probably said it all: “A day of shame for the South Africans”, with the story claiming that Springbok rugby is on the slide and Japan’s shock 34-32 victory is a “new low for the much-vaunted Springboks”.
On Sunday a still shell-shocked Schalk Burger said the players were well aware of the reaction to the defeat in South Africa and “players are dealing with the disappointment in their own unique ways”.
“Some guys are trying to shut it out in an attempt to stay positive, others are using the jokes going around as motivation, I try to stay oblivious but you cannot avoid the repercussions of such a terrible loss,” Burger admitted.
Burger said the Boks had to be careful to be gracious in defeat, no matter how much it hurts. “Sometimes in life you get thrown a curve ball that nobody could have seen coming, and unfortunately it was us that got a World Cup curve ball yesterday,” said Burger, who was one of the better Boks on the day.
“Japan had planned and prepared for this match for six months and played it as if it was their World Cup final, and we just could not react and create enough pressure to get them out of their comfort zone.”
The match was hailed by the Sunday Telegraph as the “Greatest shock in sport”.
“The World Cup organisers wanted to get rugby into the mainstream here and this kind of result has done just that. It is just a pity that it had to come at our expense!” Burger lamented.
Coach Heyneke Meyer, who came into the World Cup in the process of negotiating a new four-year deal with the South African Rugby Union, knows he is instead facing the axe if the Boks cannot radically transform themselves over the next month.
“We know how much pressure is on the coaching staff,” Burger said. “But the same goes for the players. We are all feeling it. We are all in this together, coaches, management and players. Nobody went out there to let anybody down.
“This game was an incredible chapter in sport. We went into the Japanese change room after the game and they were all crying with joy,” Burger said. “So we have to take a step back and applaud them, and then be very harsh on ourselves when we start preparing for Samoa today, because suddenly this is our World Cup final. This week’s match will define our campaign.
“The only way to fix this is to take this World Cup by the scruff of the neck. We are not going to retreat into our shells. People who know the Springboks know what is coming,” Burger concluded.
The Star