South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus singled out individual errors as one of the main reasons for their defeat to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship.

The Springboks were looking for a historic win at Eden Park, where they last achieved victory in 1937, but a slow start saw them fall to a 24-17 loss in Auckland.

South Africa conceded two tries in the opening 16 minutes and trailed 14-3 at half-time, and despite both Cobus Reinach and Malcom Marx crossing the line in the second half, the Springboks suffered their second loss in four matches at the tournament.

Despite their promising second-half display, Erasmus believes their poor start to the match left them with too much work to do against the All Blacks.

“We were 14 points behind after two easy tries, and we found ourselves chasing our own tails, and that was in the rain as well,” said Erasmus.

“I thought the replacements brought energy, and we fought back well, but it’s tough to win if you are 14 points behind.

“We made two individual errors and they scored tries, and the other times they had to grind, so it’s frustrating.

“It’s not always the same players making the mistakes, and some of them were stupid errors. But as coaches, we pick the players, and as management, we have to sometimes put up our hands and say we got it wrong.

“We are very disappointed, but we played the number one team in the world, and we have to put everything into trying to win next week.”

Reaction from Rassie Erasmus: “I thought the replacements brought energy, and we fought back well, but it’s tough to win if you are 14 points behind” #Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #NZLvRSA

— Springboks (@Springboks) September 6, 2025

New Zealand extended their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 48 Tests, last losing at the venue in 1994 (23-20 against France).

In a match that ebbed and flowed, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson was proud of his team’s desire to win against the reigning world and Rugby Championship champions.

“Some of the defensive sets were just immense,” said Robertson.

“We played some really good rugby. And then the Test turned and we had to defend. We knew the match would go back and forth.

“When you play a World Cup winning team, a team that has been together for a long time, you are not going to win every moment and you just have to stay in the fight. It turned into a scrap when it started raining, but we just kept competing.”