Cape Town - Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer praised his
team’s composure on a wet field and especially their great set-piece and
defence, but bemoaned a high error count in a Test which the visitors could’ve
won.
As it happened: All Blacks v Springboks
VIDEO: Cornal Hendricks' fabulous try!
“I will never be happy when the Boks lose, even if it’s away from home against a great team such as New Zealand,” said Meyer.
“But I’m very proud of the way in which the guys played, especially our youngsters. The All Blacks used their opportunities better and they probably adapted better to the wet field.
“We wanted to keep the ball in hand, but made a number of mistakes close to their tryline. Credit though to the All Blacks, they are a quality side. We gave our best and in the end it wasn’t good enough.
“We should’ve held on the ball better and I thought we scrummed well, out lineouts were great and our defence was immense against and unbelievable attacking unit. They threw it from pillar to post and were very threatening on attack but the guys did brilliantly on defence and credit must go to (defence coach) John McFarland.
“We were also superb stealing ball on the ground, but in games such as these you need some luck. I’m proud of how they hung in, but we probably just didn’t use our opportunities at the end.”