Nche said the Springboks went 'absolutely off script' in the second half, which saw them lose the No 1 world ranking latter in the night.
Springbok prop Ox Nche said the team’s remaining matches in the Rugby Championship are now must-wins after they went “absolutely off script” against the Wallabies at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The South Africans forfeited a 22–0 lead after 18 minutes, and 22–5 at half-time, as the Australians halted their opportunities and ran in six unanswered tries to earn a bonus-point 38–22 win, just their second victory at the Johannesburg venue.
Boks lose No 1 ranking
The result, along with New Zealand’s triumph against Argentina later in the evening, saw the Springboks lose their number one world ranking to the All Blacks.
“The first half we played very well, we played like we planned. In the second half, we tried too many different things. We were our own worst enemies,” the loosehead prop said.
“We didn’t actually execute our plan. I think that was the main problem. We didn’t get our processes. Even when we were winning, we were quite hard on ourselves for the mere fact that we just couldn’t tick our boxes.
“In this game we ticked them in the first half and then in the second half we absolutely went off script.”
He said the Springboks had analysed Australia well, and correctly assumed they would come at them in the lineouts and breakdown. However, the Wallabies were simply more up for the game.
Also, while every chance the Springboks had in the second half collapsed into nothing, the Wallabies pounced on their opportunities. He referred to Joseph Sua’ali’I’s intercept try, and Tom Wright snatching a loose ball to also run about 70m to score.
These led to Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admitting they were lucky, and the scoreline did not reflect the closeness of the match. The coach expected the Springboks to bounce back in their game in Cape Town next week.
Every Springbok game now a must-win
Nche added the Boks now saw every match left in the tournament (one against Australia and two each against New Zealand and Argentina) as must-win games.
“If we want to win the Rugby Championship we have to win every single game. We have to build confidence… so next week is a must-win and we have to get as many points as we can get.
“For me personally, it means more hard work, more preparation. Whatever you did last week, do more of it… We’ve played against them and know how it felt. The only thing we can do is just execute every single thing better.”
