“WE’RE definitely not the finished product yet, but we are slowly growing into a better team.”
With these words, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus praised his men for their epic 26-20 victory over the dogged Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh at the weekend.
“To beat a team that has become a real force in world rugby, on the up, in the middle of a good home run, is satisfying. The current world rankings don’t indicate how tough it is to come and play here, and we could have lost the game in the dying minutes.”
The South Africans have battled for consistency in results but their performances have markedly improved.
Now they head to their last tour fixture against Wales high on confidence following two successive wins against France and Scotland. Yes, they weren’t roaring victories but hard-fought wins nonetheless.
“We’re learning how to close out games and that’s why we won this game because Scotland were as good as us on the day,” said Erasmus.
“The maturity of this team is starting to show because we are now winning games from tight situations. We scored three points when Willie le Roux was off the field with a yellow card and they didn’t score.”
Two vital penalty goals in the second half, one each by Handré Pollard and Elton Jantjies, eventually secured the Boks victory.
Erasmus also applauded Embrose Papier, who made his first start at scrumhalf for the Boks: “I really think that in the case of Embrose, we got it right. We thought this was the right game for him, on this pitch, and the way Scotland play suits him well. He also handled it very well.
The Boks travelled to Cardiff yesterday where they will conclude their four-week tour against Wales on Saturday.
