Heyneke Meyer says sorry for Springboks humiliation following shock loss to Japan
South Africa coach describes defeat by Brave Blossoms as the worst moment of his career but said team must still try to top their pool
Shellshocked South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer apologised to the nation after the two-time champions suffered the biggest Rugby World Cup upset ever against Japan on Saturday.
"It is by far the worst moment of my coaching career," said Meyer after the 34-32 defeat in Brighton. "This is a very big wake-up call."
The 47-year-old - whose side had already been hit by a historic defeat by Argentina in the Rugby Championship last month - said the Springboks must now lift themselves and win their remaining matches to try to top pool B.
We represent a proud nation and I apologise to the nation. We have got to take it on the chin and get back on track
"We represent a proud nation and I apologise to the nation. We have got to take it on the chin and get back on track.
"It won't be easy for us to do that. But I have to as coach take responsibility for this."
Meyer watched powerless as the most experienced starting Springboks fifteen ever turned out were harried into errors. They never established superiority over a team who had not won a World Cup game since 1991 against Zimbabwe.
"All credit to them [the Japanese] they did well and they hung in there," said Meyer. "We knew they were going to be tough but that we had to concentrate on the way we play. I thought four tries was going to be enough but our discipline was not good enough.
"Their defence was brilliant, we didn't get good enough ball and were never on the front foot."