Bloemfontein - A dejected Deon Fourie says the Springboks shot themselves in the foot by giving away penalty after penalty in the final quarter of their 13-12 loss to Wales, a lack of composure that allowed the tourists to stage a successful comeback.
A controversial Springbok line-up that had 14 changes to the first Test and six debutants dominated the Welsh for three-quarters of the game and should have been far more ahead than 12-3, which was when Wales began their fightback.
It was a day of mixed emotions for Fourie, who entered the Springbok record books as the oldest player to make his debut (he is two months short of his 36th birthday) but the disappointment of losing a game the Boks ought to have won was apparent when he spoke to the media.
“I think there were a lot of emotions with all the guys getting their chance to play, as well as those guys getting their first caps,” he said. “Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way but we can only look at ourselves, as we made it difficult for ourselves with the unnecessary mistakes.
“Add to that the penalty count – I think it was more than 10 – was not good enough, especially in Test rugby. And with that penalty count, you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot.
“If you give away double penalties in a row, and that happened twice tonight, that’s where the composure comes in and guys need to know you can’t do a ‘double fault’ because at Test match rugby that’s where you get punished.
“But we know what we need to fix for Saturday’s series decider in Cape Town) and what we’ll need to focus on is to be more accurate.”
But when asked for his thought so at last making his debut, Fourie broke into a smile: “I don’t feel so old now! It’s something I’ve always dreamed about and it was a huge honour, and I’m happy to have achieved it.”
Sitting next to Fourie was Warrick Gelant, who did some good things in his first match since the 2019 World Cup but was also guilty of too much lateral running.
“Wales were desperate and knew what the outcome meant for us, and if we got a victory what it would mean for them,” Gelant said.
“There were a lot of guys coming in from different competitions around the world and maybe that wasn’t easy … sometimes you think you’re in control and in those last 20 minutes you maybe rest on your laurels and that’s when reality kicks in.
“And then they get a quick score, then two, and then three, and then they win the game. So it’s a lesson for us that you have to go for the kill.
“Territorially, for the first 50 minutes, we were in control and Wales couldn’t get the upper hand on us, but then there were mistakes from us and they crept in and turned it around.”
IOL Sport