Springbok coach Allister Coetzee hailed the dogged determination shown by his young side in their 19-13 win over Ireland tonight at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Springbok coach Allister Coetzee hailed the dogged determination shown by his young side in their 19-13 win over Ireland tonight at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
"I think it's important to note that we started the series with a loss – and we were 19-3 down [in Johannesburg]and we came back," said Coetzee.
"[Today], we were down a yellow card [Willie Le Roux]. Ireland scored 10 points within that yellow card."
"In the 77th minute, we had to defend our line… It's a team that's been together for three or four weeks and they were really put to the test."
"I'm really proud of the players to have come back – a young group of players – to have come back and shown such resilience and character like that."
"I know it's not pretty rugby today, but it's proper test match rugby. You've got to be able to fight in the trenches and pull off a win. That's what matters."
"Jaco Kriel made a massive impact, Steven Kitshoff was immense, and Bongi Mbonambi – when we needed him to make consecutive tackles in the last two minutes, when I had to take off the captain – showed how each and every player fits into their role and takes responsibility."
Coetzee also hailed his experienced players – and fired a parting shot at the media, stating that he was happy with the way they performed tonight after what he felt was harsh media criticism.
Coetzee will visit Grahamstown – his place of birth – on Tuesday (28 June). Like Grocott's Mail Sport on Facebook and follow @GrocottsSport on Twitter for news on the day's events.
