Springboks soul-searching after Japan loss

The Brave Blossoms secured a first ever win over the Springboks, scoring a try at the death to claim a 34-32 win in Brighton on Saturday.

There was some consolation for the Springboks, as they secured two bonus points for scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of the winners.

Both the coach and captain were pensieve after the game and offered different views on the loss.

Coach Heyneke Meyer said Japan's work at the breakdown stopped his charges from gaining momentum.

"There were just too many penalties and we couldn't get going. I thought scoring four tries would be enough but our discipline wasn't good enough. They played well, their defence was brilliant - we didn't get any go-forward or quick ball. If you don't quick ball on the front foot you won't win a game," Meyer said.

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers was at a loss for words when asked to describe what went wrong.

"I think this is just one of those performances where we can't really put our finger on why we lost. We were beaten by a better team on the day and I think credit should go to Japan for how they played, the way they stuck it out to the end. As players, we need to take responsibility and ownership for this performance," De Villiers said,

"It was way below par for us and the standards that we set ourselves. It really is difficult to say where it went wrong, but in the end it wasn't good enough by a long shot."

The Springboks have six days to prepare for their next clash - a massive battle with Samoa next Saturday.

Saturday's results saw Ireland beat Canada 50-7, Georgia beat Tonga 17-10 and France pipped Italy 32-10.

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(File photo: Gallo Images)