By Brenden Nel.
Bad luck but no qualms with the red card, that was the view of Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber on Pieter-Steph du Toit’s red card during the team’s loss to France on Saturday.
The card, which meant the Boks had to play for 68 minutes one man short, was a massive shift in favour of the home side and allowed the hosts to take an early 13-0 lead before the Springboks fought back with guts.
“It was bad luck, but it was a red card,” Nienaber said regarding the incident, where Du Toit seemed to be pushed by Kwagga Smith and collided head-on-head with French midfielder Jonat Danty, prompting referee Wayne Barnes to issue the sanction.
The Boks fought back incredibly, keeping themselves in the game until a yellow to Deon Fourie ended their challenge and they lost by four points.
Nienaber said the team had spoken at halftime about putting in more effort, and they were pleased with the way the players reacted. That is why the loss hurt more in the end, he said.
“I’m not going share the tactical plans, but the pack put in 10 per cent extra and I think that’s why the loss hurts that much,” Nienaber said.
“They kept us in the game, and we were 13-0 down, but they kept on fighting.”
Nienaber added that while the Boks had lost to Ireland and France by small margins, it gave them a good indication of where they are as they head into the World Cup year. Ireland are in their pool and there is a good chance they will face France in the quarterfinals.
“We’re four points behind France, who are the second-best team in the world and three points behind Ireland, who are the best team in the world,” Nienaber said.
“France are the Northern Hemisphere champions and that’s where we are right now. We’ll have to work extremely hard because we have Ireland in our World Cup pool.
“There’s also the possibility of playing France or New Zealand in the quarterfinals, so there’s a lot of hard work for us.
“That’s where we are and that’s the reality.”
The Boks now head to Genoa to face Italy, another tough game after the Italians upset Australia on Saturday.