Australia slumped to their sixth straight Tri-Nations loss with a disappointing first half against South Africa yesterday, but coach Robbie Deans is not letting the pressure build up on the team.
The Test in Perth was virtually over after 17 minutes when the Springboks led 15-0 after two early tries and Morne Steyn kicking a penalty on the back of a host of turnovers from the Wallabies.
Coughing up those tries disappointed Deans, but he did not take the loss any worse than the first three in this year's Tri Nations.
'It's another night and they are almost the same. Sometimes when you win it isn't much different than when you lose. For me there is no cumulative effect and every time you line up you do your best,' Deans said.
'That's something that in terms of resilience that we have to master such that we enter the game in a better way.
'There's no doubt we contributed again by giving up a couple of soft tries. That's detail that we can master.'
The Springboks certainly changed up their game, keeping the ball in hand more and limiting their kicking, but that did not surprise Deans too much and he believed the major difference was South Africa's ability to capitalise on their try-scoring chances.
'We fully anticipated that they would look to bring some variety and there was second guessing going on. They expected an adjustment from us as well and they brought some tactical changes themselves,' he said.
'There's no doubt the Springboks are a very confident side and that comes from history of performance, time together and getting outcomes.
'That tends to spread through the ranks and with that belief they turn half chances into full ones, where we are doing the opposite.
'They are a side capable of playing any way they choose, but their first priority was to win the Tri Nations, which they've done convincingly and easily.'
A couple of lineout turnovers proved costly, but what was of most concern to Deans was the dropped high balls early and conceding from set piece plays.
'We were good for the greater part against a very good lineout, but didn't use all the strategies we hoped. We gave it our best crack, but didn't help ourselves by letting in soft tries,' he said.
'One was opportunistic because we didn't secure the ball and there were two set piece tries that shouldn't happen, and hence we had to play from behind.
'The amount of penalties we produced was indicative that we did ask more of the Springboks. As a result they conceded penalties.'
While James O'Connor was good at full-back, Adam Ashley-Cooper was rarely sighted at inside centre and Quade Cooper made a difference late in the game to help the Wallabies get two late tries.
Deans is now looking forward to Saturday night's Test in Brisbane against the Springboks and Cooper could earn the start if Berrick Barnes isn't fit.
'Quade did do well when he got into the game. He defended well and carried the ball well. He created some doubt and we fed off that,' he said.
'It's another Test match, another great opportunity for advancement and they are all good.'
George Smith again captained the side in the absence of Stirling Mortlock and was pleased to see the team show some grit late in the contest, but acknowledged the quality of South Africa.
'It's always tough when they do put two tries on you early on and you are coming back from that, but our resilience showed by coming back. In the last 20 minutes the boys were playing over the Springboks, were looking for work and doing those things right,' Smith said.
'They scrambled well defensively, threw numbers into the breakdown and are a good side. You aren't world champions and continually winning games without having a good balance between senior players and those coming through.'
