Rassie Erasmus is pleased with how the Springboks broke their drought in Brisbane, but is bracing for a backlash from the Wallabies in Perth.
The Springboks blasted Australia off the park to earn a five-try, bonus-point victory at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
It was South Africa’s first win in Brisbane since 2013 and just their second over the Wallabies at the venue since 1965.
While Erasmus is happy, especially considering that the Boks were forced into late changes to their pack before kick-off, he said the way the game finished still left the world champions with something to work on.
The Boks lost Malcolm Marx, Jesse Kriel and Marco van Staden to yellow cards in the last 15 minutes, with the Wallabies capitalising to score their only try of the match.
“We are happy with the performance, but not the three yellow cards,” Erasmus said. “We also didn’t cherish the ball and look after it like a piece of gold, but at times we played with good structure and intent. So, we certainly don’t want to throw points away like that.
“We would have liked to keep them scoreless, but it would be arrogant to say that. The reality is we wanted to come here and win, and we are delighted that we were able to do that today.”
Erasmus said that with the Wallabies expected to welcome back a couple of senior players next weekend – including tighthead prop Taniela Tupou – he expects a much tougher challenge in Perth.
“Next week is a new Test and we want to give other players a chance, but that said we know Joe Schmidt and how he can turn things around,” said Erasmus.
“He’s only had four games with Australia, and next week is a new game and a new venue, and we are expecting a big challenge.”
Photo: Matt Roberts/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
