Erasmus focusing on light at the end of the tunnel

Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus is electing to stay positive in the wake of two losses from as many encounters during their Autumn Nations Series campaign thus far.

The Boks kicked off the tour with a loss to Ireland in Dublin (19-16) before moving on to Marseille where Les Bleus recorded yet another victory on the trot (30-26). This weekend, the Boks face a resurgent Italian team who, last weekend, managed their maiden victory over the Wallabies.

However, despite the difficulties, Erasmus is thinking of the bigger picture as the World Cup in France next year edges closer.

“South Africans love winning and we fully take it on the chin when we lose,” he said. “We get it that people get upset. In our supporters’ view losing is bad and in our view it is bad. But there is some light at the end of the tunnel looking towards the World Cup.

“When we analyse the teams we see the French team is really building up well towards the World Cup. We see Italy is ticking a few boxes by beating Wales and Australia.

“If you look at it in a non-emotional way, are you getting solutions and answers? I don’t want to say we are always learning. People get tired if you say you are learning.

“We certainly know what to expect if we get France in the World Cup quarterfinals. That game in Marseille, we thought could have gone either way with the red cards and everything that was involved there adding some spice and making it interesting.

“The French crowd was immense and the pressure was fantastic. Players learnt to kick under pressure where they previously would not have had that experience. They can bottle that experience and take it to the World Cup.

“Losing two games in a row is not great, but I think the answers we got from some players and knowing what we can do in our pool games [is a positive].

“We play the All Blacks regularly and we played France in a cauldron which is really intimidating and the boys handled themselves fairly well.”

Following the Italian Test, the Boks will challenge Eddie Jones’ England at Twickenham.