Rassie Erasmus frustrated by '15 minutes of bad rugby' that cost Springboks against All Blacks

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus lamented his team’s “shocking” start at Eden Park left them too much to do in their 24-17 defeat to the All Blacks on Saturday — despite a far stronger second-half showing in the Rugby Championship clash.

The hosts raced to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter, capitalising on unforced Bok errors and momentum-sapping penalties, and although South Africa fought back after the break, they were left to rue missed opportunities and a slew of mistakes.

“The one positive is that we’re still in the running to win the Rugby Championship,” Erasmus said after the game, which earned the Boks a losing bonus point. “Overall, if you look at the 80 minutes, we had 15 really bad minutes which led to a little disbelief.”

The Boks were outclassed in the first half but dominated territory and possession in the second, scoring two tries and pressuring the All Blacks’ defence deep into the final quarter.

“We came out after half-time with a bit more belief, and I thought the subs really injected some energy into the game,” Erasmus said. “But we’re all very disappointed. We realise people will be gatvol and we’ll take plenty of heat for this one.”

The Springboks now head to Wellington for the second Test, knowing a win would keep their title hopes alive.

“Seven days later, we have the opportunity to beat New Zealand and stay in the mix,” Erasmus said. “It was away from home, against the world’s No 1 team, but it doesn’t make the loss any easier.”

Stand-in captain Jesse Kriel echoed the coach’s frustration and took accountability for the team’s performance.

“Obviously, we weren’t up to scratch tonight,” said Kriel. “There were way too many handling errors and things that weren’t up to standard for us. All credit to New Zealand, I thought they were very good. We were not as good as we wanted to be, but we’ll be back next week.”

He added: “If a lot of individuals are making errors, then it gets hard to build pressure. I felt we got into their 22 a few times, but we just weren’t able to convert. It’s something we’ll look at and fix.”