By Greg Stutchbury
WELLINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - South Africa captain John Smit said on Saturday the world champions could not play any worse after their 19-8 loss to New Zealand in the Tri-Nations opener.
"We came here very purposeful and very much with the belief within ourselves that we could win over here," Smit told reporters.
"I think that was as poorly as we can play in the Tri-Nations and we can certainly only get better from here.
"There is a hell of a lot still to give. I think that is where we are most disappointed.
The loss ended a 14-match winning streak for the Springboks and extended New Zealand's winning sequence at home to 30. They have not lost at home to South Africa for 10 years.
"I thought they defended well and kicked much better than us and we certainly did not deserve to win tonight," Smit added.
"While we would have liked things to run differently they haven't. We do have another crack next week."
The teams meet at Carisbrook in Dunedin next Saturday.
The match was characterised by some aggressive defence by the Springboks, who threw themselves with ferocious intensity into the tackle and the breakdown, often driving All Blacks attackers backwards.
"It's the biggest test match we play (and)...it generally brings the best out of both teams," All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.
"They're currently the world champions and I think that brings a lot out of our guys as well.
"They respect the South Africans and they played that way because they respect them."
The match, played in semi-darkness for 20 minutes when one of the floodlight towers went out in the first half, was the first test to be played under the International Rugby Board's experimental law variations.
Neither team was prepared to make an assessment of the impact of the laws, though Smit, who limped off with a groin injury in the first half, said he felt the tactical kicking of both sides had shown a lack of direction.
"I would like to have played a full game under the new laws to get the full scope of it. I went off after 35 minutes," he said.
"I didn't get a full chance to experience them and my 35 minutes weren't the most fun I've had.
"There was a lot of standing around in the middle with a lot of aimless kicking going on. The competitive situation seems the same but there seems to be a little bit less in terms of direction." (Editing by John Mehaffey)
