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Sydney – There are probably few things more scary than seeing Digby Ioane run at you with thirty metres of space on either side to beat you, but Gio Aplon still feels he should have stopped the Wallaby wing.
The Springbok fullback is not blaming anyone else for the try, but Aplon believes any team that concedes five tries – as the Springboks did in Saturday’s Tri-Nations test against the Wallabies – should ask serious questions of itself.
“It was very disappointing. We definitely ran on the field with the hope of winning, especially after few people gave us a chance. It’s ultimately all part of the learning process. This was a young team and we learned valuable lessons. However, it does not take away the pain of defeat.”
Four of the five tries by the Aussies came from turnover possession and Aplon admits it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“It happens when the team does not keep the ball. You can’t blame individuals because the team did not play together as a unit and that put individuals under pressure,” he said in defence of his team-mates.
“It’s difficult to defend after turnover ball because you are busy attacking and the guys are all lined up to play. Suddenly you have to turn around and your lines aren’t formed.
“We have to learn to protect possession better and make sure we keep the ball in certain areas of the field.
“When we managed to keep the ball we gained good ground and had them in trouble. It’s then that we got penalties in their area and were able to build pressure,” said the 28-year-old Matie.
Aplon is one of few Boks who emerged with his reputation unscathed, but Bok coach Peter de Villiers believes the Wallabies deserve credit for their performance.
“We gave the ball to them on a platter, but they still exercised good options after that. We tried to recover and managed to do so in certain instances, but the Wallabies caught us with great counter-attacks on more than one occasion.”
He was satisfied with the last 20 minutes when the Springboks scored two tries, but one of the try-scorers, Chiliboy Ralepelle, disagreed.
“We didn’t have the fire. Where was the Springbok fire?”
Every Springbok supporter wants an answer to that question.
Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom was also unimpressed.
“We dominated them physically. If you manage that, one team usually comes first and the other second. We definitely didn’t come off second best.”
Sydney – There are probably few things more scary than seeing Digby Ioane run at you with thirty metres of space on either side to beat you, but Gio Aplon still feels he should have stopped the Wallaby wing.
The Springbok fullback is not blaming anyone else for the try, but Aplon believes any team that concedes five tries – as the Springboks did in Saturday’s Tri-Nations test against the Wallabies – should ask serious questions of itself.
“It was very disappointing. We definitely ran on the field with the hope of winning, especially after few people gave us a chance. It’s ultimately all part of the learning process. This was a young team and we learned valuable lessons. However, it does not take away the pain of defeat.”
Four of the five tries by the Aussies came from turnover possession and Aplon admits it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“It happens when the team does not keep the ball. You can’t blame individuals because the team did not play together as a unit and that put individuals under pressure,” he said in defence of his team-mates.
“It’s difficult to defend after turnover ball because you are busy attacking and the guys are all lined up to play. Suddenly you have to turn around and your lines aren’t formed.
“We have to learn to protect possession better and make sure we keep the ball in certain areas of the field.
“When we managed to keep the ball we gained good ground and had them in trouble. It’s then that we got penalties in their area and were able to build pressure,” said the 28-year-old Matie.
Aplon is one of few Boks who emerged with his reputation unscathed, but Bok coach Peter de Villiers believes the Wallabies deserve credit for their performance.
“We gave the ball to them on a platter, but they still exercised good options after that. We tried to recover and managed to do so in certain instances, but the Wallabies caught us with great counter-attacks on more than one occasion.”
He was satisfied with the last 20 minutes when the Springboks scored two tries, but one of the try-scorers, Chiliboy Ralepelle, disagreed.
“We didn’t have the fire. Where was the Springbok fire?”
Every Springbok supporter wants an answer to that question.
Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom was also unimpressed.
“We dominated them physically. If you manage that, one team usually comes first and the other second. We definitely didn’t come off second best.”
