Springbok captain Jesse Kriel rued several handling errors, penalties and their inability to convert chances as the All Blacks snapped a four-match losing streak against the world champions at Eden Park on Saturday.
The Boks salvaged a bonus point in a 24-17 loss after a spirited last quarter, spurred on by some strong performances off the bench.
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It was a bitter result for the Springboks, but they were their own worst enemies in the opening quarter with dropped passes and a misfiring lineout. While they increasingly found their intensity and power – their slow start was too much of a handicap.
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“Obviously we weren’t up to scratch tonight,” lamented Kriel. “Way too many handling errors and things that weren’t up to standard for us. All credit to New Zealand, I thought they were really good. We were not as good as we wanted to be, but we’ll be back next week [in Wellington].”
The win extends the All Blacks’ unbeaten run at Eden Park to 51 matches, while the Boks are still searching for their first victory at the New Zealand fortress since 1937.
Kriel says the high error-rate prevented them from asserting themselves.
“If a lot of individuals are making errors, then it starts to get hard to build pressure. I felt we got down into their 22 a few times, but we just weren’t able to convert. It’s something we’ll look at and hopefully be better at next week.”
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Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
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