SYDNEY: An emotional South African side have had a tough week of preparation ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Australia to try to undo mistakes that cost them last weekend, captain Siya Kolisi said.
The world champions were beaten 25-17 by the Wallabies in Adelaide last Saturday to drop to bottom of the rugby championship standings but will have another chance this weekend at Sydney Football Stadium.
“It’s been a tough week and we’re injured,” Kolisi said at a virtual press conference on Friday.
“It was a tough defeat because we missed a lot of chances on the pitch. We’re in pain and we’ve been working as hard as we can to make sure we fix last week’s mistakes. We South Africans are emotional people, it’s been an emotional week,” he said.
The Springboks had plenty of scoring chances but were stung by an efficient performance from the home team.
“It was painful to go over all the missed opportunities again. We understand the fans’ frustration and are trying to be much more consistent,” added Kolisi.
“We all take defeats differently. I take on a lot. We have to do something different on Saturday because we haven’t won here (in Australia) since 2013.”
Kolisi also expressed confidence in the skills of youthful winger Canan Moodie, who is making his right wing debut and faces the daunting prospect of taking on powerful Australia’s Marika Koroibete.
“He wants to learn and is always interested in doing extra work. I’m happy for him. The way we play we will give him opportunities to show what he’s made of,” the bok captain said of Moodie.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Tom Hogue)