Springboks must sharpen attack before All Blacks Tests, says Rassie Erasmus

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus says his side must improve their attacking fluency before beginning their Greatest Rivalry Test series against the All Blacks, despite securing a hard-fought 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires.

The Springboks produced an unconvincing performance against a powerful Los Pumas team on Saturday evening, but managed to withstand sustained pressure and leave Argentina with the result they wanted.

The match provided a demanding final test before the All Blacks arrive, with Argentina’s physical approach giving South Africa a useful challenge across the full 80 minutes. Although the Springboks were some way short of their best, Erasmus believes the encounter offered important value ahead of the next stage of their campaign.

“Argentina play a different style of rugby, and the stadium is genuinely intimidating, but it’s a win, although it wasn’t pretty and perfect. That said, we are happy with the result and with the way we ground it out,” Erasmus said after the match.

The Springboks’ defence was tested repeatedly, but Argentina scored only once. Erasmus felt the try came from an offload that his players should have dealt with, while the rest of their defensive effort remained largely effective.

“They play a similarly physical game to us, and we’ve always struggled to get on top of them physically, but to concede only one try, which came from an offload we probably should have stopped, tells me our defence was largely intact,” he said.

South Africa were also encouraged by their discipline, which Erasmus described as relatively good. However, he identified the attack as the clearest area requiring attention before the team face the All Blacks.

“Our discipline was also relatively good, but what we need to sort out is our attack. A number of players were short on game time on their return from injury, but getting them through 80 minutes was always going to affect our fluency. The positive is that we got them through the game.”

The lack of rhythm in attack was partly attributed to players returning from injury and lacking match practice. Erasmus said the priority had been to ensure those players completed the match, even if that affected the Springboks’ ability to play with their usual fluency.

The victory also comes as attention turns to the fitness of Siya Kolisi, who is facing a race against time following a hamstring injury before the All Blacks series.

The Springboks will now return to South Africa to prepare for their opening Test against New Zealand. The first match of the Greatest Rivalry Test series will be played in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August.