Erasmus and Kolisi laud Springboks’ courage and belief

Erasmus and Kolisi laud Springboks’ courage and belief

SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi have lauded the self-belief and courage of the Springboks after their victory over the All Blacks on Saturday in Wellington.

 

The Boks rallied back from 12-0 down to beat the world champions 36-34 in front of a capacity crowd at the Cake Tin. It was the most points the All Blacks have ever conceded in New Zealand and South Africa’s first win in New Zealand since 2009.

 

Erasmus said the players deserve special praise for their courage on defence and execution of the game plan. The All Blacks dominated possession and territory and forced the Boks to make more than 200 tackles during the game.


 

“The boys showed guts and I’m so glad for them,” said Erasmus.


 

“We will take this win over the best team in the world and enjoy it, but we will keep our feet firmly on the ground. We will not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do and the All Blacks will be fuming when they come to Pretoria (on 6 October).”

 

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said the win was special, given the challenges throughout the game. Both starting centres, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am, left the field with shoulder injuries, while Willie le Roux (fullback) spent 10 minutes in the sin bin after he was yellow carded.

 

“We kept our focus and we really had belief,” said Kolisi.

 

“We wanted to look each other in the eye and said we did the best that we could against the best team in the world.

 

“The boys did just that and I’m so proud of all of them. Coach Rassie and the other coaching staff did an excellent job to prepare us for this Test after we lost the previous two.

 

“It’s a special win, a special day and I'm so proud of the guys and just glad we could make South Africa proud again.”

 



Story via: the Springboks

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