SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN Siya Kolisi is confident the Springboks are moving in the right direction under Rassie Erasmus after a strong end to 2018.
Since replacing Allister Coetzee in March, Erasmus has overseen seven wins in 14 matches, including a series win over England and a Test victory against New Zealand.
South Africa finished second in the Rugby Championship behind the All Blacks but were buoyed by the 36-34 triumph in Wellington on September 15.
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They suffered a narrow defeat to England at the start of this month’s European tour but bounced back with wins over France and Scotland.
A 20-11 loss to Wales last weekend ended their year on a negative note but Kolisi is convinced there are plenty of positives heading into a World Cup year in 2019.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Kolisi told ESPN.
“There were some ups and there some downs and I think we obviously wanted to do so much better than we did, but we’ve learned and improved a lot.
“I think the respect we wanted to gain back and the respect we wanted to get back in the Springboks jersey, I think we got a bit of that.”
South Africa’s year on the up means they are building momentum into a World Cup year. They will need that momentum from the first kick-off in Japan as they face reigning world champions New Zealand in their opening fixture and, depending on the pool outcomes, could face Ireland at the quarter-final stage.
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Captain Kolisi proud to restore respect for Springboks in Rassie's first year
SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN Siya Kolisi is confident the Springboks are moving in the right direction under Rassie Erasmus after a strong end to 2018.
Since replacing Allister Coetzee in March, Erasmus has overseen seven wins in 14 matches, including a series win over England and a Test victory against New Zealand.
South Africa finished second in the Rugby Championship behind the All Blacks but were buoyed by the 36-34 triumph in Wellington on September 15.
They suffered a narrow defeat to England at the start of this month’s European tour but bounced back with wins over France and Scotland.
A 20-11 loss to Wales last weekend ended their year on a negative note but Kolisi is convinced there are plenty of positives heading into a World Cup year in 2019.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Kolisi told ESPN.
“There were some ups and there some downs and I think we obviously wanted to do so much better than we did, but we’ve learned and improved a lot.
“I think the respect we wanted to gain back and the respect we wanted to get back in the Springboks jersey, I think we got a bit of that.”
South Africa’s year on the up means they are building momentum into a World Cup year. They will need that momentum from the first kick-off in Japan as they face reigning world champions New Zealand in their opening fixture and, depending on the pool outcomes, could face Ireland at the quarter-final stage.
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