Distraught Meyer’s second apology
Heyneke Meyer’s apology to the nation is the second in just as many months with his first coming last month.
|||Eastbourne, England – Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has yet again had to apologise to South Africa again after his team’s shock 34-32 defeat to Japan in their Rugby World Cup opener in Brighton on Saturday.
A clearly distraught Meyer had to render his second apology in just as many months with the first coming last month when the Springboks finished at the bottom of the Rugby Championship after conceding their maiden loss to Argentina in Durban.
However, the loss to Japan has not only cast doubt on Meyer’s job but it has also placed a dark cloud over the Springboks chances of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Meyer admitted that losing to the 13th ranked Japan outfit is a major setback for his team’s World Cup ambitions but strongly believes that they can redeem themselves in their remaining pool matches against Samoa, Scotland and the US, respectively.
“I had a few tough weeks at the end (towards the World Cup) and I’ve had tough days and have been in coaching for some time but this is by far (the darkest day). This was just not good enough, we represent a proud nation and we let them down. Obviously we want to apologise to the nation but we can’t keep doing that. We have to take it on the chin and every game from here onwards will be tough, we have to get back on track and it won’t be easy,” Meyer said in the aftermath of the Japanese embarrassment.
“I have to take responsibility as the coach, it is a big setback and we have to work hard, be focused and be better to go through to the next round,” Meyer added.
The 47-year-old Meyer conceded that they gave Japan “too much respect” and that his team did not play enough rugby to warrant themselves more opportunities of scoring points on the day.
Meyer lamented the Springboks failure to dictate play and admitted that they succumbed and lost the battle of the kicking game which Japan had lured them into at times.
“I think we gave them too much respect and I think we should have played more rugby. We got caught into a kicking duel and we knew they have a good kicker. Again I take full responsibility, it is a case that we just gave them too much respect and they’ve beaten us and they deserve the credit. We should have counter-attacked more, most of the time we just kicked the ball back to them.
“The big thing was the penalties, we couldn’t get going and they slotted their penalties. They also kicked for the corners and they went for the scrum at the end and they scored. We couldn’t get going and they played tactically very well,” Meyer said.
Under Meyer the Springboks are yet to win any meaningful silverware, they’ve dropped to their lowest ranking to fifth place after their defeat to Argentina and have now find themselves with the unenviable fact of being on the wrong side of the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history.
– Independent Media