Cape Town - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says that Saturday's win over New Zealand was a result for the whole of South Africa.

The Boks stunned the rugby world with a 36-34 win over the All Blacks in Wellington and it was a result that South African rugby fans needed after a disappointing few weeks.

READ: 5 talking points - All Blacks v Boks

Few had given the Boks any chance of a win and speaking after the match on Saturday Erasmus praised his charges.

"The boys knew they were playing for their whole country," he said.

"When you lose two games like we did in the previous ones, it's always nice to win but when you come here and beat New Zealand, it's even nicer.

"We could have lost the game in the last minute, but the guys stuck in there and played for our country ... that's satisfying."

The Boks scored five tries in the match, but it was their defensive effort of 235 tackles that really stood out.

"I don't know how we scored all those tries ... they've got one of the best defensive systems in the world and we had no ball and scored all those tries," Erasmus said.

"That's a positive for the attack, but the defence was just awesome. I think the guys are starting to trust the system and get used to Jacque's (Nienaber) defensive system.

"There are a lot of things that we did wrong, but at the end we pulled it through.

"We're not getting carried away, but we're really happy for us and for our country as well."

The Boks are back in South Africa now and have the week off before preparing for their next clash against Australia in Port Elizabeth on September 29.