'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi

By Sports Desk August 31, 2024

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.

The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.

Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation. 

"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.

"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.

"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."

All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.

"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.

"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.

"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."

South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup. 

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