Springbok assistant coach Daan Human said the team owed it to the country and themselves to bounce back strongly when they face Argentina in Nelspruit on Saturday.
The Test at the Mbombela Stadium will decide the winner of the 2024 Castle Lager Rugby Championship after the Boks’ 29-28 defeat in Stantiago del Estero last weekend, and Human said they had a lot to work on this week.
“It’s special to be here (in Nelspruit and back in South Africa) and hopefully we can deliver a good performance for the public,” said Human.
“We know the whole country is behind us, and we owe it to them, the supporters that will attend the game on the weekend, and ourselves to bounce back strongly. So, hopefully, we can deliver a good performance that can earn us a win and see us win the Rugby Championship.”
Looking back at last weekend’s performance, Human, who said everyone in the squad was fit and available for selection, admitted that there was hard work ahead for the team this week.
“Obviously we are still very disappointed with the result last week,” said Human.
“We always knew how tough it would be to play against Argentina at home and it was the first time some of our players played there, and hopefully they learned something from the experience.
“There certainly wasn’t a lack of effort from the team. That said, we have a lot to improve on.”
Human also gave Los Pumas due credit after they defeated the Boks, New Zealand and Australia this season, and he expected them to take the field equally hungry on Saturday.
“I think this is the first time they beat all three other teams in the Rugby Championship, and they’ll take confidence from that, so we know what lies ahead for us this weekend,” said the scrum guru.