Embarrassed Springbok great concedes already: 'You will beat us every single day of the week'

Stand by for more of this at Newlands - distraught Bok captain Eben Etzebeth after the Albany disaster. Photo / Brett Phibbs

So this is what rugby's greatest rivalry has come down to.

A South African rugby great has already conceded defeat to the All Blacks in Cape Town, even though the game is nearly three weeks away.

Joel Stransky, a 1995 World Cup hero and one of his country's top pundits, didn't bother imagining a winning formula for the battered Boks when interviewed by the Radio Sport Breakfast.

Instead, Stransky implored the Springboks to beat Australia at Bloemfontein in 11 days time, before heading to Newlands for inevitable defeat against Kieran Read's rampant All Blacks.

In the wake of the extraordinary 57 - 0 All Black victory at Albany, Stransky said "smart rugby" was at the heart of New Zealand's dominance.

Stransky said: "You are going to beat us every single day of the week, we aren't anywhere near that level of decision making.

"The next game at Newlands is not of vital importance...we are all following (the All Blacks), when they click like that on the weekend they are unstoppable.

"After the weekend I don't think we can beat the All Blacks. We have got to beat Australia.

"It is more important we tick off successes against other teams. We have to beat Australia and show that this 57 - 0 defeat was a oncer."

Stransky was at a loss for solutions, but had a clear idea of why the All Blacks were so good.

"Our lineout fell to pieces but it is normally pretty good so I'll leave that alone," he said.

"The way the All Blacks take the ball into contact, with a real sense of urgency and ambition to get over the gain line, to win the confrontation for that hard yard on the gain line...it's not just about getting over the gain line but how you present the ball, how quickly you move the ball away from that contact situation and keep the forward momentum going.

"The quality of the All Blacks' backs, from Beauden Barrett to the outside backs, you just attack the gain line with such ambition, such pace on the ball. The decision making is normally outstanding - on the weekend it was perfect.

"The decision making of the ball carrier - whether it's a back or forward - about when the ball needs to go wide, when it needs to be moved into space, carried up, a little pop pass to someone in a better position or an offload. I think that's the critical thing..smart rugby, and a real sense of urgency."

Stransky always thought the Springboks faced an uphill battle at Albany but "I didn't think it would be as bad as that...I don't think anyone could quite believe what they were seeing.

"Our lineout was poor, we were very average at the breakdown, ponderous with ball in hand, our defence had no urgency or cohesion, we were just dreadful across the board.

"Altogether it was a bitterly disappointing and highly embarrassing defeat...that average score over the past three tests (52 - 9) puts things into perspective."