After an embarrassing loss to Australia in their Castle Rugby Championship opening game fingers have been pointed at Springbok halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok for not managing the game better after going down 38-22 at Ellis Park.
Jesse Kriel, has however thrown cold water over that notion that blame should solely be placed on certain individuals in the South African team, with the centre pointing fingers to himself and other senior leaders for not wrestling back control.
Kriel agrees the Boks got hit hard after trying to overplay as Australia hit them on the counter-attack and scored 33 unanswered points in the second half.
Immediately after the game fingers were pointed at Williams and more so Manie Libbok for not managing the game better, as the Boks parked the kicking game and decided to run at all costs.
I think in hindsight it is easy to say we should have done this and we should have done that. I have not seen the replay of the game yet and I will go have a look. [Playing] Aerially is one of our strengths then again Australia were great they obviously had a plan and executed that plan really well and we didn’t really have an answer for that.
I was one of the most experienced players in the backline and maybe I could have handled things a bit better and maybe we could have controlled the game. I should have probably, as a leader, have done that. It is easy to now put pressure on [other] guys, but as leaders and experienced players we should come through there and get us doing things differently. It is never one person, it is always the whole team.
Kriel: Boks Ready To Bounce Back
Meanwhile, Kriel agrees with coach Rassie Erasmus’ assessment that they did not fight hard enough when the Wallabies started turning the tables on them, although he could not yet place his finger on what exactly went wrong in Johannesburg.
South Africa are however, known for putting on big performances when they have their backs to the wall, with Kriel promising backlash when the two sides go again at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
There were a few incidents where there was big momentum changes in the game and probably things we could have controlled a bit better.
Australia came with a great plan, they had answers for that and I think every turnover opportunity that they got they scored. And at this level of the game when you make a mistake it ends up in points.
We have to be better…We knew it was going to be tough, every TRC is extremely tough, the games are only getting harder. It is the first week we get a chance next week to go out and make the result right.
At this level you enjoy the pressure. There is ebbs and flows, up and downs you experience as a team and as an individual. This is no different as from what we have experienced in the past. It is all about how you bounce back and respond. That is one of the great things about the sport. It’s a true test of character and that is why it gets called a Test match.
Great challenge ahead of us and the guys will be excited heading into the week. We are South Africans and we get back up and fight.
