The Boks would have been bitterly disappointed to narrowly lose to England on Saturday after battling their way into the lead late in the game.
AS IT HAPPENED | SPRINGBOKS V ENGLAND: SCORES, COMMENTARY
In the end, though, England flyhalf Marcus Smith kicked a penalty goal in the 79th minute to edge his side to victory after the Boks had shown great character to come back from a five-point half time deficit (17-12).
The Boks outscored England in the second half (14-10) – the 24th time they have managed that in the past 28 matches – but it wasn’t quite enough for victory this time.
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Instead, they saw a winning lead turned over at the death once again, having previously suffered the same fate against Australia and New Zealand during the Rugby Championship.
“This was a spanner in the engine,” head coach Jacques Nienaber commented afterwards. “It would have been lovely to end the year with a win.
“That’s the third time this year that we have lost the game when we’ve been leading by one or two points at 78 minutes, so it’s very disappointing. It’s something that we’ll have to look at and improve on.
“I told the team in the change room afterwards that they’re better than our winning percentage this season (62%), which is skewed by the loss of those close games.”
However, there will be some consolation for the Springboks as they will still end 2021 as the top-ranked side in world rugby.
The Boks’ cause was aided by the fact that the No 2-ranked side New Zealand also ended the year in defeat to France, who have now moved into fifth on the world rankings.
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from The South African https://ift.tt/3qYoRZc
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