Rassie ‘embarrassed’ as Springboks suffer crushing Ellis Park defeat to Wallabies

ALL THE METICULOUS planning and preparation by the Springboks came to nought on Saturday in the opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

The opening match of the competition delivered a shocking result for Bok fans, as a commanding 22-0 lead in the first 20 minutes evaporated into a 38-22 defeat against the Wallabies. In front of 51,327 passionate spectators, the Springboks initiated the game with a super-charged start, displaying flawless rugby from the kick-off. 

They looked to be on track for a comfortable victory, soaring to their impressive early lead with three unanswered tries in a sparkling opening period, at a stadium where the Wallabies have struggled in the past. 

However, despite frequently finding themselves in the red zone, they were unable to add to their powerful initial surge.

Their high-paced, high-powered beginning came to nought as a superb fightback by Australia – a team that recently completed an intense and challenging British Lions tour – completely turned the tide. The Wallabies, demonstrating impressive resilience, scored six tries to record their first victory at the famous Ellis Park ground in over half a century. 

This defeat, in addition to ending the Springboks’ run of four successive wins against the Wallabies also inflicted the heaviest defeat on the Springboks since Rassie Erasmus returned to lead the coaching team in 2018. Alarmingly, a mounting penalty count against the Boks contributed significantly to their downfall.

We got it wrong

Erasmus lamented that the Wallabies beat the hosts in most departments. 

“We didn’t scrum them, they beat us in the lineouts, and they bullied us at the breakdown after Siya Kolisi went off and Marco van Staden had to go off for an HIA". 

Erasmus’s post-match comments reflected profound disappointment and self-criticism. He described the team’s unexpected defeat as “really awful” and admitted he was embarrassed to appear at the post-match press conference. 

Taking full responsibility, Erasmus declared, “We as coaches got it terribly wrong and we have to look at ourselves before we point fingers at the players”. He acknowledged the impending criticism, stating, “From now until next Saturday, we’re going to take a lot of flak, but we take credit when we do well, and we have to take the flak when we do badly”.

He specifically rued the failure to secure a bonus point, calling it “the saddest thing” that the Wallabies took five points and the Boks “didn’t fight back to take a bonus point”. 

“I can butter this up and make excuses, but we were really terrible on the day,” admitted the Bok coach. 

Looking ahead to the return match at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, Erasmus hinted at potential team changes, stating, “We have always said that if we don’t play well and we lose momentum – and we did both, we played badly and lost momentum – we might change our thinking.” 

The team is now facing a challenging week as they prepare for the next encounter on Saturday at 5.10pm.