SYDNEY : An emotional South Africa side have had a tough week’s preparation ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Australia, looking to fix the errors that cost them last weekend, said captain Siya Kolisi.
The world champions were beaten 25-17 by the Wallabies in Adelaide last Saturday to drop to the bottom of the Rugby Championship standings but get a chance again at the Sydney Football Stadium this weekend.
“It’s been a tough week and we are hurting,” Kolisi told a virtual news conference on Friday.
“It was a tough loss because we left a lot of opportunities out there on the field. We are hurting and we worked as hard as we could to make sure we fix the mistakes of last week. We South African are emotional people, it’s been an emotional week,” he said.
The Springboks had many chances to score but were stung by an efficient home side performance.
“It’s been painful to go over all the missed chances. We understand the fans’ frustration and we are trying to be a lot more consistent,” Kolisi added.
“We all take defeat differently. I do take a lot on myself. We have to do something different on Saturday because we haven’t won here (in Australia) now since 2013.”
Kolisi also expressed confident in the ability of teenage winger Canan Moodie, who debuts on the right wing and faces the daunting prospect of going up against powerful Australian Marika Koroibete.
“He wants to learn and is always keen to do extra work. I’m excited for him. The way we play we’ll get him opportunities to show what he is made of,” the Bok captain said of Moodie.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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