South Africa reaction (head coach de Bruin, captain Latsha, Roos)

South Africa head coach Swys de Bruin, captain Babalwa Latsha and Nadine Roos give their reaction to the Pool D defeat by France at Franklin's Gardens on Sunday, 7 September.

Swys de Bruin, head coach

On the match:

"Man, that's a big stage. They are a very strong side, their set-piece is immaculate - they taught us a lesson there today. But what I loved: we never stopped fighting, right to the end, and the crowd was behind us.

"We knew we were in the quarters, luckily our players will have fresh legs for next week. Well done to France, they came with their strongest team and they proved they were class.

"We rested some players and that was the challenge for any girl out there: put your hand up for next week. For us to be in a first-ever quarter-final, it's still a dream that came true."

On what went wrong today:

"No, nothing went wrong. What went right for France? The scrum was very good. Their set-play was superb and then when they sucked us in they played us wide."

On France:

"Any team that can go forward like that and turn shoulders like that leads to chances. Look at how we played against Brazil, for example, in the first game. We had beautiful offloads as well. So you can't offload if you haven't turned shoulders. Otherwise it's a 50-50 pass, and France is a good team. They really are an example for a lot of international teams. Their high-performance centre, I was there and I've never seen such a set-up in my life. It's a little rugby village, second to none. They've got indoor fields, their gyms... They are trendsetters and world leaders."

On his team's attack:

"I don't want to mention too much of our style but when we showed one or two things punching through the middle we did gain a lot. We started twice on our 22 and finished on their 22 and then two or three times we'd lose the ball or give away a penalty - that comes with experience. I have been in this game for 35 years and we've taken big scores, I've taken big scores that worried me, but today didn't worry me that much."

On New Zealand next week:

"We've got a lot of analysing to do on New Zealand because the top four teams are in a class of their own in this tournament. If Ireland are fifth and they took a 40-0 defeat today and we are 10th and we took a 47-points difference, it just shows you the top four are different from the rest at this stage."

Babalwa Latsha, captain

On the match and the quarter-final to come against New Zealand:

"We knew it was going to be a tough outing today, tough up front, and going into the quarter-final we feel that was good preparation for us.

"It's amazing we reached the quarter-final in the first place. New Zealand will be a big challenge but we look forward to whatever challenge lays in front of us. We can go back to the drawing board, see how best to prepare for next week."

On what it means to be in a first Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final:

"It's quite amazing. Women's rugby in South Africa has come a long way, and to be in a quarter-final means that the wave is finally reaching its cusp."

On whether South Africa coped with the step up in quality against France:

"With respect to his game, the quarter-final is the main objective. This is top-flight women's rugby, this is about as good as it's ever going to get. Next up is a top, top nation. This is what we want. We want a challenge, we want to see how far we can get. We want to see what else we can get out of ourselves.

On South Africa's defensive difficulties against France:

"Of course, France love to offload, they are that sort of team. That means we need to be sharper on our defensive efforts and catch-up runners. They challenged us defensively, and at times we coped well with that; at times we didn't."

On captaining her country at a Rugby World Cup for the first time:

"It was a phenomenal experience. It's definitely one that I'll look back on fondly when I'm old and grey."

Nadine Roos

On the match against France:

"Firstly, well done to the girls for still sticking their heads out, staying in the fight. It's never nice standing behind your posts, looking at each other, being like, 'OK, what happened there?'. It’s obviously not nice losing a game, that's never part of the plan, but unfortunately it can't always be a win.

"Credit to France, they were a very good side, they showed why in the Six Nations they lost against England by one point.

"The players that didn't get game time in the first two matches, they got a feel of the pressure and what a World Cup is all about. That was always probably part of the plan from the coaches' side."

On the foot chase she had during the match:  

"That's just the work ethic I have and the discipline I always try to keep on the field. It's small moments like that. I just remember I figured it was a knock-on. I was in that breakdown and I turned around and I saw they kicked the ball. I got off the ground, and there's a saying in Afrikaans, which just means you pull your ears down and you have to go, and I knew when I started outrunning them, I can get to the ball earlier. Knowing the laws of the game, if I dive on that ball, they can't dive on me. I was just a bit unlucky my knee hit the ball, and all I remember as I tried to get up, the girl tried to dive for the ball and she just fell over me.

"I always just try and fight for this jersey, fight for the team, fight for the players next to me and fight for my country because I don't like it when teams score easily against us. I'm a very competitive person. I believe if you ask my teammates they will say the same. So for me, all about that, it doesn't matter how tired I am, it's not about me. It's about the team."

On scoring the try in the final minute:

"The spirit was quite high after we scored that last try. It was good finishing off this game with a try. You always need those little victories in the game and we had good moments where we celebrated those victories and this try was that last victory.

"These are the teams that we want to play against. Celebrating those small victories in the game, it's really important for us, getting used to these type of games, this type of pressure."

On playing New Zealand next week:

"It's a playoff game, the squad exists of 32 players and he [Swys de Bruin] pretty much made it very clear for us at the start of this World Cup campaign that the jersey's up for everyone. If you perform, you will get your spot starting or on the bench and if you don't perform and do what they expect of you, then of course, you're going to miss out.

"So even though there were nine players rested, it doesn't mean their spot is secured for the playoffs. It's a tough one for the coaches, so it's up to them who they're going to select for the quarterfinals. It’s also good for those players to rest because if they get the opportunity, they're going to be fresh coming in this week, which will also be a massive positive for the team because you need that energy to drag you through a playoff like that."