Rassie Erasmus has been blunt in his assessment of Saturday's 33-16 loss to New Zealand at Ellis Park, conceding his side were handed a hiding despite controlling large portions of the contest.
The Springboks were dominant for the first 55 minutes, winning penalty after penalty at scrum time, before the momentum swung decisively. Erasmus identified the moment Gerhard Steenekamp walked around at a scrum and conceded a penalty — with the Boks in a position to level the scores — as the pivotal turning point. Two yellow cards followed in the final quarter as New Zealand pulled away to take a 17-point victory and the lead in the four-test Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Series.
"Perhaps we should have taken the three points in front of the posts. We would have been level then and we had dominance in the scrums," Erasmus said. "The scoreboard is ugly — it isn't lekker to lose like that. We were over the line with a maul try and we lost the ball, and there were a few small things we didn't do well in the first 60 where we were controlling territory and possession. But we didn't get the points when we needed to, and they were clinical when they got their opportunities."
The defeat leaves the Boks needing to win all three remaining tests to take the series. Erasmus, now 106 games into his Springbok tenure, drew on precedent to reinforce that the position is recoverable, citing the Lions series and the 2019 World Cup pool stage as examples of the Boks bouncing back from damaging losses.
"We have been in catastrophic positions before — the Lions, the first pool game in 2019 — and we have won from there. We now need to win three games in a row to win the series, and them winning the first one puts them in an advantageous position. There is still a way out and that is to win three games on the trot."
On the response he expects from supporters, Erasmus was measured. "Most teams lose a game or two here and there and if we lose, it is natural for our fans to be unhappy. We understand it was a terrible performance on the scoreboard, but the scoreboard is what counts. We will lay low, not read the papers and work hard to make sure we come back."
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie was cautious despite the margin of victory, insisting the game was far closer than the scoreline suggested and flagging the likely intensity of the Springbok response in Cape Town next Saturday. "Nothing in that game was easy, and while the scoreline may sound convincing it was an absolute arm wrestle that could have gone any way. The boys defended and defended and when we got our opportunities, we were clinical. We are wary of the response we are going to get next week." Rennie added he would be reviewing the scrum penalties New Zealand conceded during the period of Springbok dominance.