Boks know where they went wrong

SA have pinpointed where they fell short in the demoralising 3017 defeat by Australia this past weekend and are determined to bounce back in the Rugby Championship clash with old foes New Zealand on Saturday, hooker Bongi Mbonambi says.

The match in the neutral Australian city of Townsville will be the 100th between the Springboks and All Blacks since their first in 1921, and the Boks will go in as underdogs despite their status as world champions.

This is after back-to-back losses to Australia, the second of which on Saturday was arguably their poorest display in years as the players appeared mentally fatigued and were beaten in every facet of the game.

“We have gone through the game, we recognise our mistakes and that there is room for improvement. Every player is professional here and they know where the errors were made,” Mbonambi said on Monday. “It is a new week and a new challenge ahead; the mistakes are very fixable and that is what we will be working on this week.”

The team have mostly been in Covid-19 bubbles for the past 15 weeks with a one-off Test against Georgia followed by a 2-1 series victory over the British & Irish Lions, and then straight into the Rugby Championship the next weekend.

But Mbonambi believes they will lift themselves for the battle with their old enemy.

“When it comes to the All Blacks, they present a different challenge, but we are just going to focus on ourselves and the training we need to put in this week to make sure we pitch up on Saturday,” he said.

The Springboks should have lock Lood de Jager back after he missed the Australia clash due to concussion protocols, but wing Cheslin Kolbe remains a doubt with a leg injury.