Meyer satisfied with win over Argentina

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says his team showed character in being able to escape with a 13-6 win against Argentina in a rain drenched affair at Loftus Versfeld last night. Meyer said his team had wanted to play an exciting brands of rugby but that the conditions played into the hands of the Pumas in their opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship match….. Meyer believes that his team will be better off for the experience of playing in such conditions and showered scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar with praise for the manner in which he controlled the game under trying conditions….. Meyer said that he had expected a more scrappy game because of the wet and slippery underfoot conditions but that he was satisfied with the way in which his team scrummed but believes there is still a lot of room for improvement…… Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said that the conditions were probably the worst he has ever played in. De Villiers was complimentary of the youngsters in his team for the manner in which they played with maturity. Even though the Springboks didn’t play the way they wanted to, De Villiers said he was still happy with the win…… Meyer is still holding out hope that his team will be able to gain a bonus point win over Argentina in Salta next weekend as his team failed to pick up the maximum points on offer last night. Meyer says that he was relieved that the game didn’t end in a draw and that his team was able to pick up the four points for the win. The Springboks now lead the Rugby Championship standings after Australia and New Zealand played out to a 12-all draw in Sydney yesterday….. Meyer also said that because of the conditions it was difficult for his team to get involved in an armwrestle with the Pumas because of the wet ball but also said that Argentina will always make life difficult for any team….. Meyer also lamented the loss of Willem Alberts through injury on Friday evening after captain’s run as one of the reasons why the Springboks struggled in the lineouts and were forced to use their number five jumper most of the time…… De Villiers conceded that their execution on the day was not good enough and even though hampered by the conditions they could have done better. But De Villiers also said that his team will be better equipped in the future to deal with such conditions and they go to Argentina this week with the same goals and even greater motivation…Journalist: Velile Mbuli