Impressed with the Springboks containing Scotland’s attack in a 17-point win, Rassie Erasmus rued the lack of cohesion from an overhauled team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
The Boks kicked off their November tour with a scrappy performance that nonetheless produced a satisfying 32-15 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh. Makazole Mapimpi led the scoring, marking his return to the Scottish capital with a brace after doing the same in 2021.
As it had in the previous clash against Scotland at the 2023 World Cup, the Bok defence kept the Finn Russell-led attack from crossing the tryline.
“We were nervous all week,” Erasmus said. “If you make 11 changes to a side – while we expect the players to immediately gel, it won’t always happen like that. That’s certainly something we want to get into the team. No matter who you play, our system and communication are always up to scratch.
“We knew we had good cover on the bench. The scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story, but we can be proud of playing against Finn Russell in two games and not giving a try away. That’s really hard to do.
“It’s definitely not a performance we are very proud of.”
When asked to expand on exactly what he wasn’t happy with, Erasmus ruled out any doubt about the players’ commitment to the cause.
“It’s not the effort that was a problem. We are trying to make sure, if we get three injuries in a position, that a player like Canan Moodie can just slot in at No 13. If Damian [de Allende] gets injured, then Andre [Esterhuizen] can slot in there. Andre didn’t play badly, but the immediate in-syncness of him and Handre, we just want the team to gel together, because we have been together for a while now.
“Next week will probably be Damian and Jesse Kriel in midfield again, but we want to know if one of those guys goes down, or if, say, Eben goes down, then guys like Jean Kleyn or RG Snyman must slot in seamlessly.
“That’s not an effort thing. It’s about repeating and aligning. I’m proud of the effort. We all are. Winning by 17 points against this Scotland team away from home is not too shabby. It’s just getting the team in sync.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
