Krige - won't quit (Getty Images).

By Alex Lowe, PA Sport, Melbourne

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South Africa flew home from Australia on Monday braced for a vicious backlash from one of the most unforgiving sets of supporters in all of world rugby.

The Springboks were defeated by New Zealand, ironically the only side whose support demands as much as the South Africans', in the quarter-finals to ensure the 2003 World Cup was their most disappointing.

They lost to England in the pool stages before being knocked out by the All Blacks and now the knives are out.

Despite calls against hysterical knee-jerk reactions, the South African press immediately began calls for coach Rudi Straeuli, who has a contract through until 2005, to "fall on his sword".

But captain Corne Krige does not believe he will quit, even though South Africa failed to achieve their pre-tournament goals.

"Defeat has been very tough on the guys. The expectation back home is huge," he said.

"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do well in the tournament and the semi-final was the minimum for us so it is a huge disappointment.

"The South Africa public are very hard on us and they expect us to do really well.

"We had only lost one game (in normal time) in the history of the World Cup until this one, so losing two I think we will get a lot of criticism.

"But I don't think he will resign. I know him well, he is a tough man."

Where the Springboks failed to make any strides on the pitch they succeeded off it as they tidied up some previous problems.

The Springboks arrived Down Under in turmoil following allegations of racism within the squad from former communications manager Mark Keohane.

Fresh in the minds of Australian rugby fans was the second Tri-Nations meeting between the two sides in Brisbane after which the Wallabies accused South Africa of spitting, biting and eye-gouging.

Add Krige's comments that England's Martin Johnson is the dirtiest player in world rugby and all in all, it was a fairly combustible mix.

Straeuli pointed to how the Springboks had "won a lot of hearts" - but on a light-hearted Australian television show, Krige nearly spoiled it all.

Comedy hosts Roy and HG asked whether the Wallabies could beat New Zealand in Saturday's first semi-final.

Krige grinned.

"Nah," he said. "Give it up. You have no chance. If New Zealand play against you the way they played against us, then you have no chance at all.

"I thought they were awesome and we were up against it - everything we threw at them they threw back double as hard."

It was not long before the subject turned to Krige, his rivalry with England skipper Johnson and his physical reputation.

Who in world rugby does Krige really enjoy getting stuck into?

"One of the guys I gave an elbow to there (on the highlights) is probably the one - Martin Johnson. Martin Johnson would be first on my hit-list," he joked.

"He is a fantastic guy." Healthy Pause. "Off the field".

Krige was reminded of that November day at Twickenham when England ran up a record 53-3 score against a 14-man South Africa side seemingly hell-bent on destruction.

The devout Christian, who prayed with the Samoans after their Pool C encounter, insisted it was a one-off he is not proud of and nowadays concentrates on setting a more positive example.

"You are expected to lead from the front, set the example in terms of discipline on and off the field," he said.

"Some of the footage that you had was in one bad game that I had. I apologised to the people involved and was badly reprimanded after the game.

"Sometimes you lose it on the field. I lost it once but never again. As captain you have to set the example you have to try and do that."

He sailed close to the wind but those contritional comments ensure his reputation, this side of the world at least, remained improved and intact.

Whether that is the case when the Springboks arrive home remains to be seen.