The Springboks’ performance in Saturday’s 14-all draw with England in Port Elizabeth was a step backwards, according to South African coach Heyneke Meyer.
The side looked flatfooted in damp and windy conditions, with the Roses feeling a tad unlucky that they did not pull this one out of the bag.
“We laid the foundations which I wanted. Today was just a step backwards, but I always knew it was going to be tough,” said Meyer.
“I always knew the first year was going to be really tough. We are way behind compared to the other countries and we have to catch up quickly.”
Meyer felt the side had let the country down with the rugby they displayed on Saturday, and he said they would have to do some serious introspection ahead of the Rugby Championship in August.
“We’ve got really high standards and I don’t want to make any excuses and the players know they haven’t played well,” said Meyer.
“At home you need to win Test matches and we will definitely look hard at ourselves.
“We want to make the country proud and we let them down tonight and it is unacceptable at this level.”
As the rain started to trickle down shortly after the start of the match, it was clear the conditions would favour the tourists.
While Meyer acknowledged the difficult conditions played a role in the Boks’ below-par performance, he would not use them as an excuse.
“Obviously, all credit to England. I thought they adapted much better to the conditions than we did,” said Meyer.
“There is no use making excuses, I thought they had a great game and we didn’t adapt well to the conditions and these guys need to learn.”
A cause for concern has been the place-kicking of Springbok flyhalf Morne Steyn, who had the reputation of being deadly accurate when he made his debut for South Africa in 2009.
However, his kicking boot seemed to have malfunctioned when he missed three kicks at goal and two drop goals.
Meyer believed Steyn would bounce back before the Rugby Championship kicks off.
“I thought in his previous two games he actually played really well,” Meyer said.
“It is just his kicking that has not been there and he’s got high standards.
“I know Morne and I’ve worked with him for quite some time. He will be back stronger.
“He’s got three games now at Super Rugby level to get it right and he knows we need him in the Rugby Championship.”
Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers agreed that the performance was a setback to the team and hoped they could learn from the disappointment.
“We won the series 2-0 and we are satisfied with that, but I think they 1/8England 3/8 got better as the series progressed and I guess we got a little worse towards the end,” De Villiers said.
“We didn’t play well. In set phases, we lost ball and our kicking game wasn’t good enough.
“I’m not just saying the kickers, but the chasing and contesting in the air, the platform to kick from and everything else.” – Sapa