Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus praised their side’s fighting spirit after beating Italy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday, despite playing most of the match with 14 men following an early red card for the second consecutive week.
The two said they were doing everything they could to avoid losing players due to mistakes.
The Boks were reduced to 14 men in the 12th minute when utility forward Franco Mostert received a red card for a dangerous tackle, but they fought through despite both sides receiving further yellow cards in their memorable 32-14 victory against the home side.
Speaking about how the team have an immense ability to adapt to such situations on the field, Kolisi said, “We went through it last weekend, and this week we went through the same thing. So, we make plans in the game as we go along because such things happen.
“The biggest thing we were asked this week is to show our ‘Africanness’, and that’s about making plans because there are always stumbles, and that’s what I am grateful for with our coaching staff.
“They are always prepared for any scenario, and even the guys who are not playing sit and make plans and decisions; they always buy in.”
Kolisi added, “It doesn’t make it easy for us. We can talk about sacrifices, but seeing a guy like Franco sitting there, we could see the hurt in his eyes.
“That said, I really love the way this team is able to stand up and fight. We always say, whatever happens between those four lines, we can still go as hard as we can and control what we can.”
Erasmus was visibly frustrated by what transpired with the red card and said, “It is what it is. What I say can’t make a difference. I’m just grateful we had Ben O’Keeffe on the one side and an experienced referee [in James Doleman].
“I’m not saying it in a negative way. What I can say is it’s sad that our captain had to make that sacrifice in his 100th game and in this game.
“I always thought we wanted to get to 20-minute red cards, and we have to recheck on that, but it’s not my place to talk about it. However, for a captain to twice in a week suffer for us to win is sad,” said Erasmus.
“I’m not saying the calls were wrong, but I definitely saw a lot of other shots in the game. By that I’m not criticising; that is life, and once we review the game, we may come to a different conclusion and see we were totally wrong, and then we have to rectify it.
“We got a red card, and they got a yellow card, which I probably thought was the right call, but losing two locks in two games now for going lower than they can go, it’s tough to understand.
“Again, I’m not saying anyone is wrong, but we don’t know how to coach guys to go lower; especially for a two-metre-tall guy to face someone who is on his knees is tough. And then to play with 13 men, and then with 14 for a while, it was tougher than last week.”
Erasmus said while he was proud of the way the players adapted to get the result and make it three out of three so far on tour, he remained sad for some of the players.
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