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South Africa’s head coach Jacques Nienaber has called for the Springboks to improve their game, despite beating Scotland in their 2023 Rugby World Cup opening game on Sunday.

Speaking after the game, Nienaber said his side needed to dominate their games, beginning with their next clash against Romania, if they are to repeat their 2019 world cup winning feat.

“The big thing for us is to get a return for our dominance. We just couldn’t build any scoreboard pressure. There is a lot to look at and we have to make sure we pitch up with the right mentality against Romania,” he said.

On his part, captain Siya Kolisi said the Springboks were determined to represent their country in the best way.

“For me it doesn’t matter whether it is the World Cup or another game – to wear this jersey is amazing. We are playing for something far bigger than ourselves, for all the hard-working people back home who don’t give up. That is where we get our energy from,” Kolisi said.

South Africa started their title defense with an 18-3 win against Scotland, extending their winning streak against the Bravehearts to eight.

In fact, Scotland have now lost 24 of their last 29 games against South Africa.

Despite the result, Scotland drew praise from Nienaber.

“It was a slippery one. Scotland are a good team, they are not number five in the world for nothing. We were only leading 6-3 at half-time after having some dominance. They are a nuggety team and hats off to them. We had to grind the win out,” the Springboks coach said.