Rassie Erasmus lauded the Springboks’ composure after their 29-26 comeback victory over France in Paris on Saturday.
Trailing by four and defending right on their own tryline with about a minute remaining, the Springboks won three consecutive penalties to set up an attacking lineout on France’s 5m line.
Perfect execution saw them power forward with a driving maul before replacement hooker Bongi Mbonambi broke away and scored the winning try in the 85th minute.
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Erasmus attributed the win to the calmness and composure shown by his players at a time when they were under pressure from France, saying they had learned from the mistakes they made in the defeat against England last Saturday.
‘It was definitely not the most clinical performance but the team was gusty enough and it feels much better [than last week],’ said the Bok coach.
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‘Last week we took it through 15 phases to get a penalty to win the game [and it didn’t happen]. This week we had to score a try to win the match.
‘We’ve done it a few times this year where we were behind quite early in the match, but this scoreline happened just before and after half-time and that made it tough. There were a few big moments for us and I thought our guys handled those and the pressure very well.’
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Photo: Yoan Valat/EPA
