Rassie Erasmus urge South Africa to improve to fulfill their World Cup desire

South Africa director of rugby Eassie Erasmus urged his side to improve further if they are to win the ongoing Rugby World Cup tournament.

The Springboks have progressed to the semi-finals where they will face Wales after they managed to beat Japan 3-26 in the quarter-final at Tokyo Stadium on Saturday.

They did have a tough first half after managing a slender 5-3 lead over the Brave Blossoms but picked up in the second half where Faf de Klerk and Makazole Mapimpi scored tries while Handre Pollard kicked three penalties and a conversion to complete a 23 point win.

"We were very nervous at half-time," said Erasmus. When we get the opportunities, we must utilise them.

"In a game which is 80 minutes, and 40 minutes of ball-in-play, if you have four minutes where you drop your standards, you will get caught out.

"I guess we don't need to improve in specific departments, but rather for 80 minutes of rugby if we want to win the World Cup."

Erasmus said the break after the first half was all about making the side believe in their abilities and it did reflect on their performance in the second half.

"It wasn't really harsh words, it was more trying to calm the guys down and trying to execute."

South Africa started their World Cup campaign with a defeat to All Blacks but since then have registered four consecutive wins and now will face Warren Gatland's men in the semi-final in Yokohama on Sunday.