The Springboks have opened their 2024 campaign by trashing Wales 41-13 at the Twickenham stadium in London, to retain the Qatar Airways Cup.
The game was 14-13 at halftime personnel with four players making their debuts in flyhalves Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and wing Edwill van der Merwe, and loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon.
Despite the win, coach Rassie Erasmus wasn’t impressed.
“It wasn’t a perfect performance.
We made a few errors and there were things that didn’t click, but there were others that did, so it was a good start.
We have new coaches and had a few players making their debuts, so there were areas of the game that were not as good as we would have liked it to be, but there was certainly no lack of effort and intensity, and we realise it will take time for things together nicely.
The important thing is that we achieved our goal and the players who made their debuts showed that they are capable at playing at this level,” said Erasmus.
It was the Boks first Test
with a win under the belt going into the Castle Lager Incoming Series in two weeks – which features a Test series against Ireland and a match against Portugal respectively – Erasmus said it was a good start to the year.
Springbok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit was also pleased with the result and was delighted to make amends for the last match in which he led the team against Wales – which the Boks lost 22-20 – and said it was an honour to lead the team.
“It was awesome to play at Twickenham, and with all the fans here, it almost felt like a home game.
I was a little stressed before the match, because one has to consider how you are feeling as well as the rest of the team, but we achieved a lot in this match” said Du Toit
Erasmus said he would announce the squad for the Castle Lager Incoming Series on Sunday after the medical team assess injuries suffered in the match, as well as the injuries in the Vodacom Bulls camp.
