Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said the Springboks achieved what they set out to do in their 61-07 win over Japan at Wembley.
“I thought we did what we wanted to do. Obviously, we made a couple of mistakes, but credit to Japan. We knew they wanted to play fast and move the ball quickly, so we tried to slow it down in the breakdown and make our hits. We had to work for everything we had today.”
“It was good for the players because we went back to our unions in South Africa after the Rugby Championship and got to play. Some of the guys who’ve been training hard got their opportunity today, and it was great to see them take it.”
“It’s good to have versatile players, so the coaches can pick who they want on the day, and that helps a lot if there is an injury in the game, and it enables us to adjust and not panic.”
Of the passionate support for the men in green and gold at the match, Kolisi said: “It was special to see the people come out in numbers and enjoy the match and even wait around at the end in the rain. We have four more matches on tour, and we need them, so we encourage them to come to the games, and we’d like to thank them for their support tonight.”
On what they need to do next week against France, Kolisis said: “I’m proud of the boys, but we have to step up next week. We missed a couple of opportunities, but we came in with intent, which is what we wanted.”
“All international games require us to step up. Japan are a great team, we saw what they did against Australia, and obviously we lost to them in the Rugby Championship. Next week will be a completely different game.”