Springboks' flanker Paul de Villiers is not backing down after a nail-biting 42-38 loss to the Wallabies in Perth last Sunday. Despite the defeat, de Villiers, who earned his fifth Test cap in the match, believes this setback has only fueled the team's resolve to triumph in the upcoming Nations Championship games in November.
De Villiers expressed that each match, win or lose, serves as a learning opportunity. He noted, "We always learn, and of course we like to learn while winning, but sometimes you learn more by losing. We’re not done. There are still a couple of games coming up in November, and for the Nations Championship we’re going to go all in and make sure we do everything we can to win that trophy. We’re committed to that."
"We’re never happy losing in a Springbok jersey. I thought they put us in scenarios where we conceded a lot of penalties, especially in the first half, and we got into a situation where we had to chase the game. Don’t get me wrong, they were good on the day. But if you look at some of the stages we got to, we made a lot of errors, and that kind of shows perhaps why we lost the game."
The experience in Australia was not only about rectifying tactical errors but also about acclimatizing to the local conditions ahead of the World Cup next year. "It was nice for us to be in Perth and Terrigal," said de Villiers. "A couple of us were in Australia for the first time. We are coming back next year, so it was a valuable outing," he added, emphasizing the importance of familiarizing with the environment.
The Boks have a rigorous schedule ahead, with matches against Italy, France, and Ireland set before the final weekend of the Nations Championship in London. The team plans to reconvene at the end of October to prepare for these high-stakes encounters.
