Rassie Erasmus has cautioned against complacency following the Springboks' 33-26 victory over New Zealand at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, which levelled the Castle Double Malt Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1 ahead of Saturday's decider at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Despite being outscored four tries to three, the Boks were clinical through the boot of Cheslin Kolbe, whose four penalty goals and three conversions — complementing tries by Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and Siya Kolisi — proved the difference. The Boks led from the opening two minutes and were never headed.
"They are a brilliant team and there are definitely things we must fix," said Erasmus. "I don't want to be technical about the edge defence, but they have really smart players, and they are two classes up from what they were last year."
Erasmus was emphatic that the All Blacks posed a significantly different challenge to last year's series. "This is not the same New Zealand team we played last year. They attacked with width, they got offloads away, they're really well coached and they've got athletes who can beat you on a dime. A couple of more phases at the end and it could have been a draw."
He also acknowledged the weight of expectation following last week's 33-16 defeat in Johannesburg. "We 100% understand the pressure and why people are upset because no one wants to support a losing team. We must make sure we're not comfortable after this win and think we're all good again because there were things we didn't do well."
The late front-row switch — starting with the trio originally named among the replacements — was a weather-driven decision. "The closer we came to the game the weather was said to be dry, so we felt that a front row that was a little bit lighter would be better on a dry field," Erasmus explained.
The match also marked Pieter-Steph du Toit's 100th cap, with du Toit taking over the captaincy after Kolisi was replaced in the second half. Du Toit, who made his debut at Newlands, called the occasion at Cape Town Stadium deeply personal. "Being able to have all my family here — I'm just very grateful for how things played out."
The series decider kicks off at 17h10 on Saturday at FNB Stadium, Nasrec, live on SuperSport.