CAPE TOWN – While Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is happy they’re winning games, he knows it could be a different result against the All Blacks in Pretoria on Saturday if they don’t make use of their opportunities.
The Boks ended their six-match losing streak against the Wallabies with a 23-12 win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. And while they started well and scored two quick tries through Aphiwe Dyantyi and Faf de Klerk, errors started slipping in as the game progressed - errors which saw the hosts butcher a few good opportunities.
“If we attack like we attacked the last time in Wellington where we scored five tries...if we do something similar it will be fantastic. But it won’t be that easy,” Erasmus said, looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture.
“The guys showed character and created more chances than we did against the All Blacks. If we converted one or two it would have been a different story but there are things we have to improve on and if we leave as many opportunities out there next week it will be a tough game to win.”
“The frustration is not about the result, and the moment we start talking about leaving points out there, we are taking the wrong route because we must first of all be happy about the win.”
Erasmus also highlighted the fact the team were able to create those opportunities.
“The positive is that we are starting to win games now even though we are making changes. And secondly, we are playing tactically well, the second half guts the boys showed, and the character, was great,” he said.
“And then the last positive was, even if we didn’t score a lot of tries, we created a lot of opportunities and if we scored them we would have given them a good, good hiding.”
Aphiwe Dyantyi scored a quick try against the Wallabies on Saturday. Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, on the other hand, lamented his team's lost opportunities, but he was also positive about the performance, despite it having been his team’s eighth loss in 10 games.
“We didn’t really capitalise tonight on the opportunities we created for ourselves. We created some really good opportunities,” he said.
“We just couldn’t get the finish a couple of times. I mean, it was two tries all, we basically gave one away and then we had a lot of good footy but you have to capitalise on your advantage.”
“We were down 14-0 after 10 minutes in a bit of a cauldron atmosphere and considering where we have been at after the last few weeks, we held our nerve really well. We fought our way back into the game. I don’t think we dominated the physical contest enough but we were still able to manufacture a lot of opportunities,” he added.
“I think there are plenty of positives, but the thing we need to improve on is our ability to finish.
“Next week we need to not just throw all the good things we did out the window, but we need to capitalise on that.”
@WynonaLouw
Cape Times