The Springbok Women suffered a 40-27 defeat to Ireland in Cape Town on Saturday, but the coaching team remains confident the side can regroup for the rematch at Athlone Stadium next weekend.
Co-head coach Franzel September attributed the loss to soft moments rather than structural failings. "We did a lot of good things today but ultimately made some unforced errors which allowed Ireland to capitalise, regroup and turn the momentum around," September said. "We had a number of opportunities in their red zone and then spilled it. That is not us. We had two mauls stopped five metres from their line. That is not us. We can fix that though, so that is why I believe we can turn this around next weekend."
Ireland claimed the WXV Global Series clash by six tries to five in front of a vocal crowd, with September acknowledging their opponents' clinical edge. "Their one try came from four, five phases and our defence is normally better than that, so that will be a work-on for next week," she said.
Co-head coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt echoed the sentiment. "They outplayed us at times, but we can fix what happened," Johannes-Haupt said. "We will come back next week more determined to make sure we are clinical. We scored five good tries and could have had more if we were more clinical when on attack. Our defence was also not accurate enough at times."
Vice-captain Unam Tose acknowledged the disappointment of letting down the home support, with the coaching staff set to conduct honest post-match reviews before Monday's return to training.