Two narrow defeats in a row don’t define Boks — Willemse

Narrow successive defeats to Ireland and France don’t define the Springboks, who will work hard in preparation for their next assignment against Italy in Genoa on Saturday, Damian Willemse says.

The SA flyhalf said the Boks were gutted by their narrow 30-26 defeat by France at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille and were determined to bounce back against the Azzurri (kick-off 3pm SA time).

“It was a tough result, the boys really gave it everything and stuck in the fight despite being a man down,” he said.

“We are really disappointed with the result, but I’m proud of the effort the guys put in.

“We’ll prepare as well as we can for next week and take it from there.

“As a team, two results do not define us, we know we were really close in both matches.”

Willemse, who was one of three players used to kick at goal against France, praised his team’s efforts in that department after an off day against Ireland.

“As kickers, we are going through our processes, and I am proud of all the guys who put up their hand against France.

“Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk and I were also in the mix there in the end. It’s going to be like that during the World Cup, so it’s important for us to take the key learnings from that so that we can build momentum.

“It was great for us to experience the pitch, facilities and the crowd, especially since we are playing two matches here in the World Cup, so it was good for our preparation.

“The result may not have gone our way but there are a lot of positives we can take from this match.”

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi shared Willemse’s disappointment that the Boks had been unable to get over the line in Marseille.