Sir John Kirwan's ‘really cost us' verdict on Leroy Carter's defensive errors: ‘You feel like digging a hole'

Former All Blacks wing Sir John Kirwan has sympathised with Leroy Carter after his defensive mistakes 'really cost us' in the 29-24 defeat to the Springboks. Kirwan stated that it was a position he sometimes found himself in during his playing career where errors out wide led to the opposition touching down. Carter was at fault for two of South Africa's scores, firstly missing a tackle on Damian de Allende in the build-up to Kurt-Lee Arendse's try before a shocking attempted hit on Jesse Kriel led to the outside centre crossing the whitewash. Undid Carter's excellent attacking work It undid the 27-year-old's good work in attack having played a key role in Ardie Savea's second try and the Will Jordan effort, with the Chiefs man providing the assist for the All Blacks' record try-scorer. A lot of focus has duly fallen on Carter's struggles without the ball, particularly given the close nature of the scoreline. 'I really like Leroy and I've been in a similar situation before where if you miss a tackle and you're a lock, no one really notices because you're in the middle of the field,' Kirwan said on the Rivals podcast. 'When you miss a couple of tackles like that, you feel like digging a hole. Leroy will learn from that. What he did was rush, so when you're in a situation like that and your opposition is coming at you, and you go too fast at him, he's got all the options. 'What Kriel does with his fend is he never puts his fend out and then when you hit him, he uses it, so from a technical point of view, that's one of the hardest guys to tackle. If Leroy slowed a wee bit and then let him do his stuff, it might have been a bit better. I just think he rushed. 'The try that Will Jordan scored was a lot to do with Leroy, so Leroy's a quality player but he made a couple of defensive errors that really cost us.' Sir John Kirwan's honest 'best team won' admission as he reveals the 'difference' between the Springboks and All Blacks All Blacks go 2-1 down It was not the only reason the All Blacks succumbed on Saturday with other little errors and weaknesses all adding up. After going 1-0 in front with an excellent victory at Ellis Park in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series opener, they now find themselves 2-1 down to the Springboks ahead of the Baltimore finale. Playing on neutral territory instead of the cauldron of the Republic should theoretically aid New Zealand, but Kirwan insists that Dave Rennie's men have got to tidy up those errors if they are to improve under the new head coach. 'When you look at the game, two missed tackles, a couple of scrums and that amazing maul, we've just got to get way better in those tight situations,' he added. 'He [Carter] will learn from it. I feel sorry for him, I know how hard it is. He's a quality player.' READ MORE: Who's hot and who's not: Springboks 'full of brutal beauty and irresistible skill' but 'crying shame' injuries leave 'jarring sour taste'