Wallabies beat Springboks 38-22: 'A horror show! It’s not Rassie, it’s the players’ – Jan de Koning, Rugby365

CapeTalk and 702's Africa Melane speaks to Jan De Koning, Editor at Rugby365.

Listen below: 

Mzansi's rugby fans are asking: what went wrong on Saturday (16 August) when the Wallies triumphed 38-22 against the back-to-back World Champions at Ellis Park. 

This is Australia's first Ellis Park victory since 1963; an unthinkable achievement for most Springboks fans.

"I did not expect that... a horror show..."

- Jan De Koning, Editor - Rugby365

"It went too well in the first 20 minutes, and it looked like the team just switched off. The key players, the playmakers, were not in their game. There are lots of individual moments you can pick on, but to put it in a nutshell, the main players were switched off and not executing their core functions properly. In general, the entire team was too comfortable and became complacent and arrogant after going up 22-0."

- Jan De Koning, Editor - Rugby365

After the match, Rassie Erasmus took responsibility for the disaster, attributing the loss to coaching decisions.

However, De Koning believes the players are responsible for the loss.

"Rassie will not throw his players under the bus, and you've got to give him credit for that. But here, I think it's the players. Rassie is not on that field. He is not the one throwing intercept passes. He is not the one who is missing tackles... I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the players... It's entirely the team and players' fault... As individuals and as a collective, the players were not in that game."

- Jan De Koning, Editor - Rugby365

For the Springboks' upcoming game against Australia at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, 23 August, De Koning expects Erasmus to change the players and is hopeful that the team 'will turn things around'.

"We will turn it around. We'll see a different performance..."

- Jan De Koning, Editor - Rugby365

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