Kitshoff candid about poor start as Boks reel from fiery AB salvo: 'We were chasing ghosts'

Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff said it felt like they were chasing ghosts in the first 20 minutes of their 35-20 loss against the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday.

The Boks are accustomed to dealing with fast starts and conceding early points before fighting back in the second half.

It's come off against most opposition, but the All Blacks have generally landed winding blows that don't allow the Boks leeway for recovery.

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The Mount Smart Stadium early implosion was one of those games where the All Blacks got the early bit on the Boks and ultimately used that buffer to keep them at bay.

At 17-0 up in the first 16 minutes and 20-3 up at half-time, it was always going to be tough for the Boks to fight back.

Kitshoff said they needed to find ways to stem the All Blacks' fast start when they meet again at Twickenham late next month in what will be their last warm-up before the World Cup.

"A lot of things stuck for them in the first 20 minutes with the offloads and the way they played a bit of pop-touch," Kitshoff said.

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"Everything stuck and it felt like we were chasing ghosts for the first 20 minutes.

"When the Springboks make a dominant tackle and get them on the ground, there's a chance to re-align our defensive system.

"The off-loads stuck and the way they moved the ball, everything stuck, and they played an incredible opening passage of the game.

"It's something we have to look at and see, especially ahead of the Twickenham Test where we can look at finding solutions in terms of slowing their ball down and prevent them from playing with that extremely high tempo."

Kitshoff