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We let ourselves down - Mvovo

Johannesburg - South Africa wing Lwazi Mvovo said that the players let themselves down in their Tri-Nations match against Australia and that it was imperative that they learnt from their mistakes ahead of the Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

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The Springboks will attempt to create history against the All Blacks as no South Africa team has managed to win a Test at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington but they will have their work cut out for them after going down 39-20 to Australia the week before.

Mvovo acknowledged that the Boks have plenty of work to do ahead of the New Zealand match.

“Everyone was disappointed (after the Australia match) because we let ourselves down,” the dashing Sharks wing said.

“We gave away too much possession and made some silly mistakes which they ended up capitalising on. But that game is gone now. We can only learn from our mistakes, improve on our game and move forward,” he explained.

The South Africa backline came in for some criticism after the Australia match with most pundits believing that there was a lack of creativity and spark on attack.

But Mvovo, who has scored one try in his three Tests to date, said that the three-quarters, many of whom had not played together as combinations before, are capable of stepping up to the challenge of Test rugby.

“The backline is there. We have some experience in the backline but it is a learning curve for the youngsters at the back but we know we need to stick together if we want to win,” he said.

The 25-year-old said that while he knew that beating New Zealand in their own backyard would be no easy task the Boks could draw heart from 2008 when an unfancied South Africa beat New Zealand 30-28 in Dunedin.

“It’s not going to be easy against the All Blacks but after a loss like we’ve just had we need to go out there and just play our game and represent our country to the fullest.

“In 2008 the Springboks won in New Zealand so I think it is more than possible for us to win and I’m really looking forward to the Test,” he enthused.

However, he did sound of note of caution saying it was imperative that the Boks improved their work at the breakdown point.

“Our execution and accuracy let us down against Australia and at times we weren’t clinical at the breakdown. We know that New Zealand pride themselves on their work at the breakdown so we need to improve our accuracy in that area.”

The All Blacks will only name their team for Saturday’s match on Thursday so Mvovo was not sure who his opposite number would be but he said that whoever was picked would be a tough opponent.

“They have a lot of strong and quick wings so whoever is picked is not going to be easy but, at the same time, we are all humans on the field. We just need to bring our A game,” he explained.

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