Rassie Erasmus Shares Who To Blame for Springboks’ Loss to All Blacks Ahead of Must Win Second Test
- Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus accepted personal responsibility after South Africa lost the opening Test in Johannesburg
- South Africa now face a must-win situation in Cape Town on Saturday, with the three-Test series on the line
- Siya Kolisi returns to the side while Pieter-Steph du Toit is set to earn his 100th cap in a high-stakes encounter
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Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has publicly accepted blame for the tactical decisions that contributed to South Africa's defeat in the opening Test, as the team prepares for a high-pressure second match in Cape Town on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the crunch encounter, Erasmus said a review of the Johannesburg loss on Monday revealed that the Springboks controlled large portions of the match but were let down by their own inaccuracy.
"When we reviewed the game on Monday, we felt we were very dominant throughout up until about the 60-minute mark, and we were just a bit inaccurate in a few departments," he said.
The coach was direct in pointing the finger at himself rather than the players when explaining the defeat.
"The plan didn't win the game for us, but it's definitely also not the players who lost the game. I'm taking responsibility for some of the decisions we made. We're a group, but I think it's a relevant point to explain why we lost, and some of it falls more on me than on the players to be honest."
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**Series on the Line in Cape Town**
With South Africa trailing one match to nil in the three-Test series, Saturday's fixture at Cape Town carries significant weight. A second consecutive defeat would end any hope of claiming the series, leaving only a drawn result as a best-case outcome.
Erasmus did not shy away from describing the pressure he is feeling going into the weekend.
"I'm definitely nervous again. We're one game down, and if we don't win this game, we can't win the series, we can only draw it. Nerves are there for sure. But we've been under this kind of pressure a lot, and hopefully we can turn things around this weekend."
Adding to the occasion, captain Siya Kolisi is set to return to the starting line-up, while Pieter-Steph du Toit will celebrate his 100th Test cap. The Springboks will kick off at 17:10, with the match broadcast live on SuperSport.
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Source: Briefly News
