By Adnaan Mohamed
The scoreboards at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium painted a picture of dominance on Saturday, but Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and SA A coach Mzwandile Stick were far more interested in the details hidden beneath the numbers.
The Springboks opened their season with an emphatic 80-31 victory over the Barbarians, while SA A brushed aside Zimbabwe 40-0. Despite the convincing results, both coaches identified areas requiring urgent attention before the Nations Championship begins in two weeks.
Erasmus praised the Springboks’ attacking output but admitted their discipline and defensive consistency left room for improvement.
“Our discipline wasn’t great, and they (the Barbarians) scored tries in quick succession, so yellow cards were not ideal,” said Erasmus.
The Bok coach pointed to the realities of a squad reconnecting after several months apart.
“But we have to remind ourselves that it’s been six or seven months since we’ve played together, and some guys were new in the mix, while we also didn’t know when the DHL Stormers or Vodacom Bulls players would be available at some stage, which are all aspects we have to keep in mind.
“To score 80 points is nice, but the Barbarians were thrown together quite late, and had only three training sessions, which makes them difficult to analyse. They scored four or five great tries, so we need to eliminate those defensive lapses and be better as a unit when we play against England.”
One concern for Erasmus was the injury suffered by experienced lock Franco Mostert, who was forced from the field.
“I’m worried about his ankle. He’ll go for scans tomorrow, so hopefully it’s not too bad.”
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi echoed his coach’s assessment, saying the match provided valuable evidence of what is working and what still needs attention.
“I thought a lot of what we wanted to get through, we did, but also, when things didn’t work, and we went against the plan, we learned lessons there,” said Kolisi.
“I always have to watch the game again to get a good assessment about things, but I already know some of the mistakes we made and the areas we need to fix. There were opportunities where I thought we could have controlled things better.”
Earlier in the day, SA A delivered a disciplined defensive display against a determined Zimbabwe side preparing for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Stick admitted the performance was not without frustration despite the clean-sheet victory.
“We knew it was going to be a big challenge because the majority of our players have never played together, so it was a new team, and Zimbabwe tried to challenge us by keeping ball in hand and playing direct rugby. I enjoyed the way they played.
“That said, for us, the goal was to see whether the players could execute what we’ve been working on over the past two weeks, and it was sometimes frustrating when the points weren’t coming.
“In the first half, we were unlucky, with two tries disallowed – once where a player went into touch, and another when a player was slightly in front of the kick. But from my side, the way the guys stayed in the fight, even when we were under pressure, was great, and we managed to keep a clean sheet.”
SA A captain Vincent Tshituka paid tribute to Zimbabwe’s intensity and ambition.
“We played against a desperate side, and we expected that. We knew the Zimbabwe players would be motivated and would want to prove a point against world-class opposition, and it showed.”
South Africa’s opening victories delivered plenty of encouragement. Erasmus and Stick know tougher examinations await, and both coaches left Gqeberha with a notebook full of positives and a to-do list that remains far from complete.