Cape Town - The Springboks improved markedly in the second half of their Rugby World Cup victory over the USA, former Springbok coach Nick Mallett says.
After leading only 14-0 at the break, Heyneke Meyer’s charges romped to a 64-0 win to finish top of Pool B.
Mallett, speaking in the SuperSport studio after the game, said the Boks must forget the win and focus on the quarter-finals, where they will face either Wales or Australia.
“It’s difficult to make a judgement on this performance because the first half was disappointing, we were very inaccurate, and in the second half we bludgeoned them to death,” he said.
“They were out-scrummed, out-tackled and they hardly had the ball. There were a lot of penalties given against the USA and our guys found gaping holes in their defence.
“But let's put this game behind us now, we have 10 days (until the quarter-final). I think Heyneke knows what his best XV is, but the big question mark is whether Jannie du Plessis is going to start, or is Frans Malherbe going to start. He was very impressive when he was on the field.”