Hansen was less impressed by his team’s overall performance in the matchup between the world’s two top-ranked teams. No.1 New Zealand struggled in the first half as the Springboks forwards won the breakdown battle and the young South African midfield pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel got the better of their much-vaunted opposites, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.

South Africa flyhalf Handré Pollard was also a constant threat playing on the advantage line, but the Springboks only managed to score one try in each half, by Willie le Roux and Kriel. They were denied another one by the video replay official in the second half, and they missed several other chances because of their own mistakes and New Zealand’s scrambling defense.

That allowed the All Blacks to claw their way back into the match before McCaw delivered the decisive blow.

“I’m really proud of the ticker the boys showed,” Hansen said. “Was I happy with the performance? Parts of it, no. But the second half I thought the mental fortitude got us over the line. So I’ve got to be very, very proud of that.”

It was the second straight week that the Springboks let a lead slip away in the final 20 minutes. Just like a week before in Brisbane against Australia, South Africa’s bench players didn’t provide the same impact that the opposition substitutes did.

Schalk Burger, in his first match as Springboks captain, said the defeat was hard to swallow, as the team had not capitalized on the numerous opportunities it had created.

“It is not easy to beat the All Blacks, and they showed why tonight,” Burger said. “They used a limited number of chances well, and we did not.”