After a mismatched performance by the Springboks against a determined young Italian team, coach Rassie Erasmus openly shared his thoughts on the game that had two very different halves.
Erasmus clearly showed his disappointment and explained where things went wrong for the Boks. The home team aimed to take control in the second half after tries from Jesse Kriel, Morne van den Berg (two), and Kurt-Lee Arendse. They were strong in the scrums and kept putting Italy under pressure.
What should have happened in the second half was for the Bomb Squad to come in and finish the game with ease. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
This left the Springbok coach puzzled. “It was a really frustrating game. When they [Italy] left some of their star players at home, you expect a tough fight because the young players have nothing to lose. We knew they would step up, and they certainly did in many areas—scrums, mauling, defense, and attack.
“No, it was a real Test match,” Erasmus said. He added, “When we were 28-3 ahead and scored another try only to have it called back for obstruction, we lost our momentum… It was honestly a frustrating performance.”
Erasmus mentioned that the team had a solid week of practice leading up to this Test match. Although the Boks scored six tries and secured a win, he expressed his dissatisfaction, particularly with their performance in the second half.
They managed to score six tries compared to Italy’s three, which made the final score appear comfortable. However, he felt it didn’t reflect the expected level of play from World Champions against a young Italian team.
“There were so many mistakes, and I wish I could identify the cause,” he said. “I’m still happy that we won. I didn’t expect our performance to turn out this way after such a good week of preparation. But maybe it shows that you should never assume you’re ready for the game.”
He acknowledged that as coaches, they must take responsibility. They believed they had prepared well, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. “Everything is fixable, but it is definitely frustrating.”
While he mainly focused on his concerns as he looks forward to the second Test against Italy next week in Gqeberha, there were some positive notes too. “The positives are that we won and scored six tries, even though our maul didn’t work well and our breakdown wasn’t great on offense. Our counterattack also needed improvement.”
He emphasized understanding the Italian team they faced: “They were an energetic group of young players, and we struggled to break through them.”
