Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks have addressed the second-quarter concentration lapses that cost them control in their Nations Championship wins over Scotland and England, after South Africa shut out Wales 43-0 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The Boks raced into a 14-0 lead before Wales briefly steadied, raising the spectre of what had unfolded in the first two Tests, where both Scotland and England dominated the second quarter before the Boks regained control and won. On Saturday, the hosts held firm and Wales did not cross the tryline.
"We buggered it up in the first two games and we did it against Australia last year as well, but we fixed it in this game," Erasmus said. "It starts to creep into your mind a little bit – is this going to happen again? – and then the communication between us and the players on the field, stick to what we're doing and we managed to get through it."
Four players made their Test debuts — prop Carlu Sadie, lock Ruben van Heerden, and backs Vusi Moyo and Jaco Williams — with Cobus Wiese and Paul de Villiers also featuring. Erasmus noted that among the matchday group, only Cobus Reinach, Jesse Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian de Allende could be considered regular first-team starters.
Erasmus was also able to report a clean bill of health for the first time this Nations Championship campaign, with no injuries coming out of the match.