Rassie Erasmus hails 'cool-head' Handre Pollard after crucial Rugby Championship win

“Handré Pollard was really important; he steadied our ship.”

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus praised his level-headed flyhalf after a flawless kicking performance led the world champions to a hard-fought 30–22 victory over Australia in the Rugby Championship in Cape Town.

Pollard successfully converted all his goal attempts off the tee, and his accuracy proved crucial as the Boks retained the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate against a fired-up Wallabies side.

“That cool head of Handré was needed, and he kicked his penalties over. Where (Wallabies flyhalf James) O’Connor missed two kicks, Handré slotted everything. He was very important,” Erasmus said.

The wet and muddy conditions suited the world champions and their suffocating game plan, but some errors in attack and defence, along with ill-discipline, almost cost them the match.

However, Erasmus was pleased with the overall performance, though he admitted there are definitely areas that need sharpening. He also wasn’t too concerned by the fact that the Boks ‘lost’ the second half for a second consecutive weekend.

“The big thing for us was to win and not allow them to get a bonus point. We’re back. We have log points, and we’re happy with the win. Looking at last week and overall for this game, I would give the team a six or seven for the victory. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but we had to get back on the horse.

“We played a more balanced game today (Saturday). We didn’t create 50 per cent of what we created last weekend. We ground the game out, and I thought it was going to be tight. We got the points, though, and it was eight more than them. That was satisfying.”

Erasmus will announce a 36-man squad on Sunday evening, with a couple of players needing to undergo scans before they can be cleared to travel to New Zealand. The Boks will face the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests, starting on 6 September at Eden Park in Auckland.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said his side was highly competitive, but the Springboks’ halftime lead proved too strong to overturn.

“We won the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the game,” he said. “With the score at 23–22 and the conversion to come, I felt the players did a fantastic job to fight their way back.”

Schmidt lamented the early injuries to fullback Tom Rogers, scrumhalf Nic White, and outside centre Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i. The Aussies had to reshuffle their plans to cover for the early loss of three backline stars, but couldn’t fully adapt to the challenges it brought.