Rassie Erasmus believes that the Springboks’ only problem at present is a lack of consistency, reports JON CARDINELLI in Tokyo.

The Boks beat Japan 26-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarter-finals. While the set piece fired and the defence was excellent, the poor execution on attack saw a number of scoring chances going begging.

Erasmus said afterward that he was pleased to see his side advancing to the semi-finals. The Boks will face Wales in Yokohama next Sunday.

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Asked if the team has what it takes to beat Wales and clinch the decider, the Bok coach highlighted the areas that require improvement.

‘We were nervous at half-time when we were only 5-3 up,’ he said. ‘Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen had to calm the guys down a bit.

‘No harsh words were spoken. When it’s a bad pass or a skill error that’s costing the side, you have to try and give the guys some confidence. I felt that our execution was better in the second half.

‘When you talk about improvement, you have to see things im context,’ he continued. ‘We have only conceded three tries at this World Cup, and two of those were scored during a four-minute period against the All Blacks. We also went through a phase in that game where we scored all the points in the latter stages.’

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Erasmus feels that the Boks remain on course to realise their goal despite several hot and cold showings at this tournament.

‘I believe that we have the pack as well as the backline to win the World Cup. It’s just a matter of finding the right pressure points with regard to the opposition.

‘We are getting a lot right but we are also going through patches where we lose concentration. Consistency is something we need to work on. We need to maintain a high level of execution for 80 minutes.’

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