That was the assessment of Springbok Women performance coach Swys de Bruin, after his side’s 34-26 defeat to the New Zealanders, who were leading 20-12 at the break.
“We simply did not get going in the first half, but I have to give credit to the team for the way they adapted in the second half, where we created numerous chances,” said De Bruin.
“If we did not have one of our tries disallowed at a crucial stage in the second half, who knows what could have happened at the end.”
The Bok defence leaked four tries in the first half and only two in the second, with the South Africans playing much more direct, while they also had the benefit of a strong bench changing the tempo of the game.
“We made a call at half-time to change our approach and play more direct, and that worked for us tonight,” said De Bruin.
“It was a night where we needed physicality and the shortest route forward, and we almost managed to turn the result around, something that I am very pleased about. It is all part of the learning curve as we head to the Rugby World Cup next month.
“We had some combinations that worked for us earlier in the season, like earlier in the season against Spain, when we scored a lot of backline tries, but tonight we needed more direct and physical ball carriers, and those combinations worked best against a very skilful Black Ferns XV team.”
Babalwa Latsha.
The South African coach said he will analyse the game in detail before deciding on next weekend’s strategy, when the two sides will again meet at the same venue.
“We wanted these games to see what we need to do better or where we are doing well, so next weekend will be that final test for the team and the combinations,” he said. “I am very proud of our effort in that second half and what clarity that gave the coaching staff.”
Babalwa Latsha, who led the Bok Women in this match and scored one of their four tries, said they don’t mind playing the game in the trenches and had no problem to heed that call from the coaches in the second half.
“We don’t mind that at all, we are good in close range rugby where we can use our physicality,” said Latsha.
“But the Black Ferns deserve credit as they showed good skills on a windy afternoon, and they really used their scoring opportunities well. Not so much for us – we created a lot of chances but did not take them all, and that will again be a work-on for us this week.”