Rassie Erasmus had a special word for Aphelele Fassi in his immediate reaction to the Springboks’ comeback victory over the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
The Springboks came from a 27-17 deficit to snatch a 31-27 victory in a thrilling encounter at a sold-out Ellis Park on Saturday.
Impressive performances from Fassi and flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – both facing New Zealand for the first time in their Test careers – helped the Boks turn the tide after an error-prone 60 minutes.
Speaking to SuperSport after the final whistle, Erasmus was delighted with how some of his young charges stood tall against their rivals.
“That’s how you learn what a guy is made of,” Erasmus said. “I think Fassi was fantastic. Willie [le Roux] helped him during the week, while Handre [Pollard] helped Sacha. There’s many examples like that.
“We will lose some matches, but as long as we keep showing this character against a team like New Zealand, I’m happy.”
Two penalties from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, one of those from 60 metres, closed the gap on New Zealand to just one point at half time.
However, the All Blacks came out firing in the second half, scoring two tries, before the world champions roared to life in the final 20 minutes.
“I’ll be honest, it wasn’t me, it was the players,” Erasmus said. “It was the guys making plans. It was them seeing that we are under the pump. It really wasn’t the coaches at half time, it was the players.”
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
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