Cape Town - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus knows that South African fans expect results, and he knows what the consequences are if those results don't come. 

The Boks fell to a 23-18 defeat to the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday thanks to a woeful second-half display as the pressure on Erasmus increases. 

The coach has now won just 3 out of 7 matches (42.8%) since taking over the national side, and he knows better than anyone that if he doesn't turn things around quickly he will be out of a job. 

"We have to find the right combinations, and I guess the challenge for us is to find it quickly enough or get fired," Erasmus said after Saturday's match.

"It's one of those two. If you don't find it quick enough, you're out of here.

"If you get the right combinations and you start winning it's great for the nation, if you don't, we know what the consequences are."

"We've got a country that is ruthless in terms of results."

Erasmus could not fault the effort on Saturday, but rather the execution. 

"There was spirit, and in the last few minutes if it wasn't for all of those mistakes we could have won this game. I know people don't want to hear that and I'm the first one to say that we shouldn't take positives out of losses," he said.

"I must credit them for trying at the end, but we also have to look at our execution at the end. There was spirit, but if you're a South African fan or coach, it's not good enough."

Things do not get any easier for the Boks this weekend when they travel to Wellington for a clash against the world champion All Blacks.