EDEN PAK

SPRINGBOK coach Rassie Erasmus bemoaned his team’s error count as they went down 24-17 to New Zealand in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test match at Eden Park.

The loss, in which South Africa bagged a losing bonus point, saw them remain in third place on the Rugby Championship standings as the All Blacks maintained a one-point lead at the top over Australia.

Although there was an uproar from mense and pundits after the game, pointing fingers at referee Karl Dickson’s decision making, Erasmus said his team have only themselves to blame for a making a poor start.

Two tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan in the first 20 minutes saw the Boks trial 14-0, with Erasmus saying it made it difficult for his team to come back into the contest. Erasmus wysed: “Overall, if you look back at the game there was 15 really bad minutes [from us] and you could see it led to some disbelief in the side. But as the half grew on, the guys got a bit of belief back before halftime.

“I think our subs made a good impact and brought energy into the game and at the end we lost by just seven points.

“Still, I am very disappointed and I know people back home will be gatvol, but we must take those hits.”

Despite the loss, Erasmus, said he and his team have seen enough from their old rivals to know they can klap them when they go again this Saturday at Wellington Regional Stadium.

Erasmus added: “Seven days later, we have another chance to try and beat New Zealand and put ourselves bag in the mix for the Rugby Championship.

“This is like every other loss, although it is against the [current] number one in the world, away from home, but it certainly does not make it lekker.”

Of possible changes for the Wellington clash, he added: “We will definitely make some changes to our team for this week. We thought we would have more or less the same team, but we’ll make a few changes.”