Springbok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit and All Blacks' Peter Lakai of New Zealand during the first Test of four in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour at Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus admitted the Springboks had been given “a hiding” by New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday, but insisted his side would keep their heads down, block out the criticism and work towards finding a way back.
The All Blacks ran out 31-16 winners in a bruising Rugby's Greatest Rivalry encounter in Johannesburg, leaving Erasmus with little interest in dressing up a performance he described as “terrible” on the scoreboard.
“Most teams lose a game or two here and there and if we lose, it is natural for our fans to be unhappy,” Erasmus said. “We understand it was a terrible performance on the scoreboard, but the scoreboard is what counts. We can talk a lot about a lot of things, but we know we need to be better.”
The defeat was not unfamiliar territory for the veteran coach.
