Cape Town - The Springboks left for the Australasian tour on Saturday "hurting", "desperate" and "feeling the pressure".
Those were the words of Bok coach Rassie Erasmus at OR Tambo International shortly before the squad's flight to Australia, where they take on the Wallabies in Brisbane next weekend.
Erasmus is looking for the Boks to bounce back from their disappointing 32-19 loss they suffered against Argentina in Mendoza last weekend.
"Whenever you lose there is pressure and we are feeling the pressure," Erasmus said in a video posted on SA Rugbymag.
The coach said he understood the frustrations of Bok supporters after the Mendoza result.
"The moment we think that people shouldn't be happy when we lose against a team like Argentina, we shouldn't be here," he said.
"That's something we must cherish ... if people are upset and sad when you lose, it shows they still care.
"We are hurting and I can stand here and say pretty words, but it wouldn't really help. The only thing that matters is what happens on Saturday."
The Wallabies, though, are also not in great shape having suffered two heavy losses to the All Blacks over the last two weekends.
"They're maybe in an even worse position than us. In the two games they had, they played the world champions and they got given a proper hiding," Erasmus said.
"They will be desperate and that will make them dangerous. We are also desperate, and we lost to a team that we didn't want to lose to.
"It'll be two teams trying their best to rectify the previous week's mistakes. We're ready and up for the challenge and the only way we're going to get last week out of our minds is by winning."
The match against Australia takes place in Brisbane on Saturday and kick-off is at 12:00 (SA time).