Springboks fans demand Pollard recall after All Blacks hand South Africa 33-16 defeat

South Africa were beaten 33-16 by New Zealand in the opening match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and the fallout has centred almost entirely on the No.10 jersey — with fans loudly demanding Handré Pollard’s return for the second Test in Cape Town.

Rising playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu endured a difficult afternoon as the All Blacks ran in five tries to one, and Pollard — a double World Cup winner who was not selected for the opener — quickly became the focal point of supporter reaction on social media.

“I’m sorry but Handré Pollard is STILL our best flyhalf,” one fan posted. Another was equally direct: “Next week we need Handre Pollard at fly half and a more disciplined approach.” A third added: “Give us Handre Pollard back in the 23, and let him enter flowstate in Greenpoint.”

The debate was not confined to the fly-half position. Several supporters also pointed to the absence of injured captain Siya Kolisi as a factor in the performance, with one writing: “Some of you here will learn to respect Handre Pollard and Siya Kolisi.”

Head coach Rassie Erasmus did not shy away from the scale of the defeat, admitting his side were “thoroughly beaten” by the world’s top-ranked team. He identified a pivotal moment in the 58th minute, when the Springboks trailed 19-16 and were applying scrum pressure before conceding a penalty on their own feed.

“Even if we had kicked over that scrum penalty and we won, we still made a helluva lot of errors,” Erasmus said. “But it wasn’t a wake-up call. There were just so many things that we did wrong and that New Zealand did right.”

Erasmus was candid about the broader picture, suggesting the margin of defeat was a fair reflection of the performance rather than a one-off collapse. “We didn’t play well. Against a class team like New Zealand, if you don’t convert, they give you a proper hiding,” he said. “With hindsight, there were a lot of things we didn’t convert — I think there were two or three big moments when we let the game go away from us. Not because we wanted to, but because New Zealand forced those on to us by being really intense and sharp.”

The second Test takes place in Cape Town, where Erasmus will face pressure to make changes — with Pollard’s potential inclusion the most discussed selection call heading into the week.