Springboks rue missed opportunities against Australia

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi lamented several missed opportunities in their 25-17 defeat against Australia in their opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship tour match at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The Wallabies outscored the visitors by three tries to two – both which were scored by replacement loose forward Kwagga Smith – and they kicked two penalty goals to one by the Boks, which saw the hosts seal the victory.

Nienaber and Kolisi were bitterly disappointed after the defeat although the Bok coach praised the team for fighting back strongly late in the game to bounce back from 25-3 down.

“It was frustrating how many opportunities we created but didn’t convert into points,” said Nienaber.

“It is something that has happened in our last few games, so we will work hard to correct that. We were in Australia’s 22 about 13 times, if not more, and we didn’t come away with points a lot of the time, and when they were in our 22, they used their chances well and got the rewards for it.”

Nienaber added: “We will have a good review of the game, take the lessons learned, and ensure that we are up for next week’s clash in Sydney. The nice thing is that we will have another chance against Australia in seven days and hopefully we will be able to turn things around.”

Kolisi echoed the coach’s sentiments and said a combination of missed opportunities and errors at crucial times came at a high price for the team.

“I thought the Wallabies played really well, and they took the opportunities they created, whereas we didn’t,” said Kolisi.

“We could certainly have been more clinical, but their defence was good and they did well to get a few crucial steals.”

Commenting on costly handling errors throughout the match, Kolisi said: “Our last passes didn’t go to hand, but as coach Jacques always says, no-one intentionally knocks on the ball. Our set pieces were good, but we can always get better, so we will go back and review the game, and we are looking forward to the next clash against them.”

The Springboks will depart for Sydney on Sunday for their second clash against the Wallablies at the Allianz Stadium and will get back to business on the training field on Monday as they look to change their fortunes in Australia.