Philip Snyman, the Blitzboks’ assistant coach, said that although they were happy with the three wins, they know they have some improvements to make if they want to be successful in the playoffs.
“We are pleased with the three wins, but we left a few opportunities out there on the pitch,” said Snyman. “We will review the performances and pinpoint where we have to improve and hopefully we can do even better on the second day.”
Snyman commended Spain for their fighting performance in the second encounter: “They counter-rucked us and we were not happy with our physicality. Our defence must also improve as we need to put shoulders on bodies and get the attackers onto the ground.”
The South Africans also had to dig deep to outplay Argentina in their final match of the day. The South Americans took the early lead with a try in the second minute but tries from Dalvon Blood and Christie Grobbelaar edged the Blitzboks ahead at the break by 12-7.
Luciano Gonzalez’s try shortly after halftime saw Argentina regain the lead and the South Americans fought hard until Zain Davids went over for the late winner to snatch a dramatic victory.
“They are a quality side and I think we were to lucky win,” said Snyman.
“Our tactic was to starve them of possession, but that didn’t go according to plan because we gave away too much possession, we had a number of loose passes and some missed tackles.
“But to put Argentina away despite so many errors showed the character of the players, and in the end, we were pleased with the win.”
