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Flat Boks will bounce back - Burger

Durban - Schalk Burger was as stumped as anyone when trying to put his finger on exactly why the Springboks didn't turn up on Saturday at Kings Park. 

The Boks lost 37-25 to Argentina in a match that has raised serious doubts over their Rugby World Cup credentials, but Burger believes that there is enough resilience within the squad to move on from what is one of the lowest points in recent South African rugby history. 

"It’s about bouncing back from this. We can’t lie down," Burger said after the match.

"We were poor tonight, we’ll take that on the chin, but I think this group will rally together and we’ll put up an improved performance next weekend."

The Boks travel to Buenos Aires this week where they will take on Argentina on Saturday in a Test that will give them the opportunity to restore some pride and gather some much-needed momentum going into the World Cup.

"Momentum is the thing. When you’ve got it it’s there and you don’t have to look for it," said Burger.

"But when you don’t have it and you look for it then sometimes it’s quite hard to attain. We’ve been in this boat before and we just have to be resilient and turn it around, whatever it takes."

Burger added that he and captain Jean de Villiers had asked for a response from the side numerous times on the field on Saturday, but the players remained flat. 

"It was very poor. It’s one of those days where it’s quite difficult to put your finger on it. I think we were flat from the start. Myself and Jean we asked quite a bit for a response but we didn’t get any response," said Burger.

"It was just flat. We basically chased the game for 75 minutes... very frustrating. I think your rugby career would be longer if you missed days like this."

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