Rugby Union

'Slap across the chops': Boks seek a way back in series

By Mark Gleeson

Aug 23, 2026

World champions South Africa were left to digest a 33-16 loss to New Zealand in the first Test. -EPA

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said he would lie low, avoid reading the newspapers and try and figure a way back for his team in their test ‌series against New Zealand after getting what he called a slap across the chops in the opening clash.

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The ‌All Blacks outscored the Springboks five tries to one for a statement 33-16 victory at Johannesburg's Ellis Park on Saturday in the first of the four ‌Tests in what is being marketed as 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry'.

"We have to find a way to get back, we got a good hiding from a good New Zealand side," Erasmus told the post-match news conference.

"We'll lay low and not read the papers and work very hard. We have no excuses because we could have won the game.

"We ‌must keep our ‌mouth closed," added ⁠Erasmus, often the source of controversy with his maverick approach to the game and contentious outbursts.

However, he refused to accept that the unexpected defeat was a catastrophic setback as New Zealand make a first full scale tour of South Africa in 30 years.

"We've been in many catastrophic situations before. We lost the first test against British and Irish Lions," he said of the 2021 series where they come back and grabbed a ⁠narrow 2-1 win.

"We lost the opening game of the (2019) World Cup ‌to New Zealand, everybody says that was catastrophic." South Africa recovered from that setback to win the tournament in Japan.

"So we've been in ‌a lot of catastrophic situations in our lives. Obviously, we're now in a position that if we want to win a series, we have to win three games on the trot.

"Without a doubt, it puts them (New Zealand) in a very good position, which they thoroughly deserve.

"And now we have to go to Cape Town and try and win there, then it's all level. But we still have to win three matches ‌in a row. So I wouldn't say catastrophic, because we there is a way out and that's winning three matches on the trot."

Erasmus avoided excuses but admitted his side had several chances where they might have made more considered choices.

"When you look in hindsight, there's a lot of opportunities that we didn't convert, but I think there's two or three big moments where we just let the game get away from us, not because we wanted to, but because New Zealand ⁠forced those errors onto us by being really, really intense and sharp," he added.