Error-ridden Springboks stumble in Mbombela

SPRINGBOK coach Rassie Erasmus will be unsure whether to laugh or cry as his team were poor and wonderful in equal measure on their way to beating Georgia 55-10 in Mbombela last night.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

Either way, the Boks were put through a serious examination by the Lelos, and perhaps it was the ideal way for the Boks to finish their four-match block of games that warm them up for the Rugby Championship, which kicks off in a month.

Ideal because they will know they are some way off their best form, and a mountain of improvement is required if they are to beat the All Blacks in Auckland on September 6, the match which is the climax of the Boks’ international season.

We know the Georgians are tough — their national sport is wrestling — but few could have predicted that the double world champions would be forced into their most unconvincing start to a match in years.

It was not easy on the eye for the 40,000 in the Mbombela Stadium as the Lelos blasted out of the blocks.

Captain Siya Kolisi was bowled over in a frenzied forward assault and went off for a concussion assessment.

Kwagga Smith was on for Kolisi after a minute and a half.