Kwagga Smith is disappointed the Springboks didn’t live up to their world champions status in Pretoria, and determined to make amends.
The Boks are in the Eastern Cape this week, working on putting in a performance they can be proud of after a messy win at Loftus Versfeld.
Smith came on in the second half with the Boks’ famed bomb squad, and was the one player singled out by coach Rassie Erasmus for actually making an impact.
“Kwagga Smith did make a difference when he came on, but we struggled to generate any intensity. I’m also not satisfied with the tries we conceded, ” said Erasmus in the aftermath of the first Test.
“We want to stay the best team in the world, but we need to be honest with ourselves,” Smith reflected after his 52nd Test appearance. “Our performance did not meet the standards we set for ourselves an honesty about that is an important requirement in our environment.”
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The Boks failed to put away the Italians in the second half, despite a healthy 28-3 lead at half time. It eventually ended 42-24 with the Azzurri managing to do something very teams can boast having done against the Boks: a maul try.
Smith told Netwerk24 conceding that try was one of the biggest disappointments on the night.
“We are very disappointed with that. Over the past three seasons, we didn’t concede many tries from rolling mauls so it’s something we definitely need to take a look at.
“And they really came hard for us at the breakdown and competed in large numbers. They disrupted us and starved us of any momentum. It was a mess.”
But Smith says this week presents a new opportunity for the team to put things right.
“That frustration will motivate us for the second Test. Luckily we have this week to train well and rectify what went wrong.”
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Dankie Pretoria! The support was yet again amazing, thank you! Next stop: Gqeberha!
#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/HAdYkgB2r3
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 6, 2025
Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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