This wasn't a world class performance - Rassie

Springbok fans may have been impressed with the 35-17 win over Australia in the opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship game on Saturday, but coach Rassie Erasmus was doing his best to calm expectations.

Erasmus agreed that the Boks were “lucky” in the first half after Australia fluffed two tries that would have given them a halftime lead and said, while individuals stood out for him, the quality of play would not have gotten the Springboks into the playoff rounds of the World Cup.

It was an interesting take, especially as the Boks' second half performance – especially on defence – was a lot better than the first 40 minutes and the bench made a massive difference when they came on.

Plus, the Bok depth was given a massive boost with the mix and match side that Erasmus selected ticking all the boxes and giving the squad a confidence boost by winning the opening game with a bonus point as well.

Five tries against two was a solid return for the game but more than that, individuals who put their hands up will push others and heighten the competition in the squad, all good things that Erasmus will want leading into the World Cup selection.

Still, the defensive lapses in the first half were sometimes worrying, and it is clear that while the squad didn’t play together before this, there are still a number of work-ons for the team ahead of the showpiece tournament in September.

"Without a doubt, what goes around comes around. Last year England it didn’t go our way with a high tackle and we could have won the game and against France we could have lost the game. Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn’t," Erasmus said on the Boks riding their luck on the night.

"We were very lucky today, they knocked the ball on and there was a forward pass when they could have scored and we would have been under the pump.

"The same as last year when we played New Zealand and they scored a try, we could have been called back for a forward pass. When it goes your way you need to be thankful for that."

Erasmus didn’t want to criticise too much in the face of victory, but was clear that the Boks will need to improve despite the victory.

"But no, we are in no doubt that this is not close to a world-class performance, so more than that the individuals who stood out in the game and put their hand up for test match rugby is the biggest take-home we can take from this.

"The way we played is definitely not the quality that will get us into playoffs at World Cup level – and we expected that because it is just a team that hasn’t played together for eight or nine weeks."

New Zealand will still provide the litmus test for the team in the coming week while a tough assignment in Argentina will also again test the depth of the team before they return home for the final outing at Loftus Versfeld against Argentina and the tough decisions need to be made.

So while the right boxes with the victory were ticked, Erasmus knows all too well that the real tests lie ahead, and the Boks need to be better if they are to head into the World Cup with confidence.