Springboks need to figure way back into series after loss to All Blacks

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said he would lie low, avoid reading the newspapers and try and figure a way back for his team in their Test series against New Zealand after getting what he called a slap across the chops in the opening clash on Aug 22.

The All Blacks outscored the Springboks five tries to one for a statement 33-16 victory in the first of the four matches in what is being marketed as “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry”.

“We have to find a way to get back, we got a good hiding from a good New Zealand side,” Erasmus told the post-match news conference at Ellis Park.

“We’ll lay low and not read the papers and work very hard. We have no excuses because we could have won the game.”

Erasmus, often the source of controversy with his maverick approach to the game and contentious outbursts, added: “We must keep our mouth closed.”

However, he refused to accept that the unexpected defeat was a catastrophic setback as New Zealand make a first full-scale tour of South Africa in 30 years.

“We’ve been in many catastrophic situations before. We lost the first Test against British and Irish Lions,” he said of the 2021 series where they came back and grabbed a narrow 2-1 win.

“We lost the opening game of the (2019) World Cup to New Zealand, everybody says that was catastrophic.” South Africa recovered from that setback to win the tournament in Japan.

“So we’ve been in a lot of catastrophic situations in our lives. Obviously, we’re now in a position that if we want to win a series, we have to win three games on the trot.

“Without a doubt, it puts them (New Zealand) in a very good position, which they thoroughly deserve.

“And now we have to go to Cape Town and try and win there, then it’s all level. But we still have to win three matches in a row. So I wouldn’t say catastrophic, because there is a way out and that’s winning three matches on the trot.”

Erasmus avoided excuses but admitted his side had several chances where they might have made more considered choices.

“When you look in hindsight, there are a lot of opportunities that we didn’t convert, but I think there are two or three big moments where we just let the game get away from us, not because we wanted to, but because New Zealand forced those errors onto us by being really, really intense and sharp,” he added.

New Zealand coach Dave Rennie, describing the victory as a “massive” win, is wary of a backlash from the wounded Springboks.

“Oh, look, it’s massive,” he said. “We’ve got a leg up, although, obviously, it doesn’t guarantee anything, and we know they are such a good side.”

“Next week’s going to be just as tough,” added Rennie, who took over as All Blacks’ coach earlier in 2026 and now has four successive wins under his belt after winning three matches in the Nations Championship in July.

“It's not about me,” he told the post-match press conference. “You know, I’m really pleased for the players. We’ve got a fantastic group of staff who work really hard, and it’s a special night.

“It’s tough to win at Ellis Park against a high-quality side, but we’re still in our infancy. We’re still getting a heap around exactly how we want to play and grow and we’ve got some good young men coming through.”

Rennie said the turning point came in the 55th minute when South Africa had three successive scrums near the All Blacks posts, electing to try and bruise their way over instead of taking kickable penalties but failed to score.

New Zealand went down the other end and scored a try when Fabian Holland charged down a clearance, regaining the lead and never looking back.

“That was a bit of a soft one and then we were under the pump for a number of minutes, so to come out of that and then get a little bit of territory was massive,” the coach added. REUTERS