By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Rassie Erasmus rued the Springboks’ inaccuracies in the 29-28 defeat to Argentina in the penultimate round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in Santigo del Estero on Saturday night.
Erasmus refused to place the blame on replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok, whose penalty goal attempt went wide in the last minute.
“If we didn’t miss the penalty kick in the end, there would have been smiles all around. But if you look at the game, there were a few things that didn’t go our way.
He admitted that after their strong start to the game, it was important to build on that momentum, but he said the yellow card to Kurt-Lee Arendse for a dangerous tackle was the turning point in the game.
“We started well and I’m always nervous when we start well because we generally tend to fight back hard, “said Erasmus.
“But we should have put them away early on. That said, they did well to exploit the yellow card, and that’s where the momentum swung.”
“We have to point fingers at ourselves as coaches and management too, but that said, we have a chance to redeem ourselves next week and to finish the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on a high note.”
Erasmus also gave the Pumas credit for their performance: “It was a great match by Argentina, while we made crucial mistakes at vital times, so all credit to them, they deserved the win.
“They knew they had a chance to win the competition with a victory, and you could see they were going for the bonus-point, and they really brought it to us.
The Pumas moved up to 14 points on the standings following their victory, while the Boks, who got a losing bonus point, are now on 19.
Should the Boks win the competition, it would mark the first time they lift the trophy since 2019, while it also cap off a memorable series in which they won the Nelson Mandela Challenge plate Against Australia and the Freedom Cup against New Zealand.
Erasmus announced that the players who were rested for the Argentina leg of the tournament would rejoin the squad in Nelspruit.