The Springboks, who were still visibly disappointed about the 24-17 result on Sunday morning, travelled from Auckland to Wellington in the morning, and will begin their on-field preparations for next week’s in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match at the Sky Stadium on Monday.

The Boks showed true fighting spirit to power their way back from 17-3 down 10 minutes into the second half, to work themselves within striking range of drawing the match in the dying moments, but unfortunately, errors at crucial times were costly.

“Personally, I’m very hungry for the next game, and hopefully I get a chance to play,” said Smith.

“The whole squad is motivated for the next game. We had a lot of opportunities, which we missed out on Saturday, but we know what areas we need to work on. Once we have our review, we’ll take things from there.”

Smith added: “We know what our standards are, and we’ll definitely try to rectify that.”

The energetic loose forward said one of the main differences between the teams in Auckland was the hosts’ ability to capitalise on their point-scoring chances – something the Boks struggled to do.

“Obviously, it was a massive game, and we definitely wanted a different result,” said Smith. “It was a tough match. We didn’t use our opportunities, and they used theirs and scored a few tries, so we need to work hard for the next game.”

Smith, similarly to Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, refused to use the pouring rain as an excuse, which followed heavy rains in the city overnight on Friday, and said they needed to be more effective regardless of the conditions.

“The ball was slippery, and bounced around a lot,” said Smith. “It was also scrappy at the breakdown, and that made it difficult to attack from. So, that’s something we’ll definitely have a look at and work on this week.”

The Springboks are currently in third position on the Castle Lager Rugby Championship standings with five points, tied with the fourth placed Argentina. The Wallabies, who staged a dramatic 28-24 victory against the Pumas on Saturday, are second on nine and All Blacks lead on 10 points with three rounds of matches remaining.

The Boks will face the Pumas in Durban on Saturday 27 September following Saturday’s second encounter against the All Blacks, before wrapping up their Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign against the Argentineans on 4 October in London.