KEY POINTS:
A chill wind was blowing through the world champion Springboks today after their nine months of rugby sunshine was blacked out.
A run of 13 successive test wins was halted by the 8-19 loss to the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium here last night, and further bad news followed with injured captain John Smit in doubt for the second test in Dunedin next Saturday.
Smit hurt his groin when dropped to the ground by All Blacks lock Brad Thorn early in the game - a dangerous tackle that earned Thorn a one-match ban by a Sanzar judiciary today.
Stormers hooker Schalk Brits was called up today join the tourists and Bismarck du Plessis will start in Dunedin if Smit is ruled out.
Whether Smit is involved next weekend or not, he was resolute in expecting an improved performance from his team as they chase their first test win in New Zealand for a decade.
"We came here very purposeful and with the belief that we could change our fortunes here. We do have another crack at them," Smit said.
"There's a lot more left to give and I think that's where we're most disappointed, that we didn't bring it all today.
"It's probably as poor as we could play in the Tri-Nations and we can certainly only get better from that."
Coach Peter de Villiers, who took over from Jake White after last October's World Cup triumph, found his first taste of defeat a sour one.
However, he was determined not to overreact.
"If I make it too personal, then it will rub off on the players and they won't have belief in themselves," he said.
"But I believe there is too much talent in this team for them to just lie down."
De Villiers has tried to instil a more expansive style to his team this year but believed they took it too far in last night's miserable conditions.
They were let down by poor ball retention and did not react quickly enough to Australian referee Stuart Dickinson's rulings at the breakdown under rugby's Experimental Law Variations (ELVs).
Key forwards Smit and Victor Matfield and first five-eighth Butch James were all playing under the ELVs for the first time, having missed the Super 14 to play in Europe, and all three struggled for their best form.
World class lock Matfield admitted he was off the pace after six months with French second division club Toulon.
"It'll probably take another two or three games before I'm 100 per cent as sharp as I would like to be," he said.
Smit had questioned the need for new laws before the test and his first assessment was that rugby remained the same game "but there doesn't seem to be as much direction".
The Springboks will remain in Wellington until Thursday before heading to Dunedin.
- NZPA
