Sorry Springboks stun Muir

Muir: Lesson learnt

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South Africa assistant coach Dick Muir admitted the plan to blood several youngsters 'didn't come off' as Leicester Tigers scored a 22-17 victory in the Spingboks' first tour match on Friday.

The Guinness Premiership champions overcame a lengthy injury list to score a shock win against the world's best, who named nine uncapped players in their matchday squad.

However, Muir said his side's front row was completely dominated and could force a re-think ahead of the upcoming Tests against France, Italy and Ireland.

"You can't play this game without any possession," said Muir. "We were poor at the breakdown and poor at set pieces so we couldn't get the game going.

"We just move on. We came over here with an experiment and perhaps it didn't come off as planned.

Strong

"I don't think I've ever seen (a South Africa pack) as bad as that, especially from a coaching perspective. We were given a bit of a lesson at the scrums.

"Hats off to the Tigers. They were incredibly strong in that department so we've got to go back to the drawing board."

The tourists should be bolstered by the return of their inspirational locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha for next Friday's clash with France, who may now scent another upset.

But Muir hopes the defeat will spur the Tri-Nations winners to greater heights.

"Nobody likes losing. When you take a squad like this and have a short turnaround maybe you're not as well prepared as you might be," he added.

Hats off

"It will probably cause the guys to be a little bit more determined. When you're on the top of the pile there's a lot of sides who want to knock you off, so that's the territory we've created for ourselves."

Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill was keen to prove wrong those who questioned the timing of the game, given Leicester's lengthy injury list and their upcoming LV= Cup clash at Leeds on Sunday.

"I'd have to take my hat off to the players," he said. "I read some criticism this morning about the fixture and the two sides that were put out.

"It was all about us tonight and the facilities we're trying to provide. Maybe South Africa are a little shell-shocked that club rugby can be like that.

"The spirit here is second to none and I don't know where it comes from. Our scrum was immense and Geoff Parling was superb in the front row.

"Rugby can get quite scientific in its analysis these days. Sometimes you just need 15 blokes to come here and roll their sleeves up. The scientists can't quantify that. And that's what we did tonight."