Erasmus Fumes After Springboks' 'Awful' Ellis Park Humiliation vs Wallabies
Erasmus Fumes After Springboks' 'Awful' Ellis Park Humiliation vs Wallabies
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus slams his team’s “awful” display after a shock 38-22 Ellis Park loss to Australia in The Rugby Championship.
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus did not hold back after the Springboks suffered their heaviest defeat to Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday, a 38-22 loss in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
- Subscribe To FloRugby To Watch Every Match Of The 2025 Rugby Championship
- The 100 Best Rugby Players In The World: The Full List
- World Rugby Rankings As Rugby Championship Begins
“We were really awful,” Erasmus said bluntly after the match. “They were very good, but we made them better. We can find excuses, but they gutsed it out. We gave them one or two soft tries with an intercept here and a loose pass there, but overall, they were just better than us on the day.”
The result stunned the home crowd in Johannesburg and left Erasmus visibly frustrated as he faced reporters. He admitted he was embarrassed to appear at the post-match press conference.
“They beat us in most departments,” he said. “We didn’t scrum them, they beat us in the line-outs and they bullied us at the breakdown after Siya Kolisi went off and Marco van Staden had to go for an HIA. We, as coaches, got it terribly wrong, and we have to look at ourselves before we point fingers at the players.”
The Wallabies, under new coach Joe Schmidt, showed an intensity South Africa could not match, particularly in the second half when the visitors pulled away.
Erasmus conceded that while Australia did not outthink his side, the Wallabies imposed themselves physically.
“I don’t think they tactically outsmarted us, but they physically dominated us,” he said. “The interesting thing is that the longer the game went on, they were supposed to struggle, but it just shows what Joe Schmidt is building there.”
The Springboks, who had hoped to use the Ellis Park fixture to build momentum, instead left empty-handed.
Erasmus lamented the fact that his team failed to fight back for even a losing bonus point.
“The saddest thing is that they took five points, and we didn’t fight back to take a bonus point,” he said. “I can butter this up and make excuses, but we were really terrible on the day.”
Springboks Squandered Chances
The coach acknowledged that his players squandered opportunities that could have shifted the contest.
Scrumhalf Grant Williams, fly-half Manie Libbok and wing Edwill van der Merwe all came close to game-breaking runs but failed to convert.
“Those moments change games,” Erasmus said. “When you’re 22-0 up, the message is to build an innings. That’s coaching, that’s us. We overplayed every time we thought something was on.”
Erasmus also hinted that the lineup for next week’s return match against Australia in Cape Town may change, despite already being selected.
“We had a chat in the change room, and that may now change,” he said. “We wanted to give Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Morne van den Berg a start, but we’ll have to rethink.”
While disappointment hung heavy in the Boks camp, Erasmus insisted the staff and players would accept the criticism that comes with such a defeat.
“From now until next Saturday, we’re going to take a lot of flak,” he said. “But we take credit when we do well, and we have to take the flak when we do badly. That’s the reality of rugby.”
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.