Rassie Erasmus has accepted personal responsibility for the tactical decisions that contributed to the Springboks' defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park, vowing to correct them ahead of the second Test in Cape Town.
Speaking after naming his team for the Cape Town match, an emotional Erasmus described the loss as "a great opportunity lost" of the Boks' own making. "We are very frustrated. We got a big hiding," he said. "What they wanted to do, they got right. What we wanted to do, we tried really hard, but they stopped us with very good tactics."
The coach singled out the 5-2/6-2 bench split as a key factor, acknowledging it backfired once Kurt-Lee Arendse failed his HIA and Cheslin Kolbe went off injured. "For the first time in a long time, the 5-2/6-2 split backfired on us," Erasmus said, adding that the better call at that point would have been to move Damian Willemse to the wing, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to fullback and Manie Libbok to flyhalf to preserve the midfield combination.
"So, me, personally, made some wrong calls on some of the tactics that we wanted to do inside their 22. Our plans didn't work, and that is on me."
Erasmus also identified the breakdown as an area where New Zealand's organisation neutralised Springbok ball-in-hand pressure. "We just couldn't get them out of the breakdown when we were in good attacking positions," he said.
Despite the candid self-assessment, Erasmus indicated the camp has moved from frustration to resolve, with Siya Kolisi expected to return for Cape Town as the Boks look to level the series.