Collins mulls the realities of defeat

Blindside flanker Jerry Collins was both pragmatic and wistful after the All Blacks sank to their solitary loss this season against the Springboks.

The taste of defeat, he said, would not disappear until the next victory.

"We came to do a job and you know we done half the job right and that is something which is going to stick with us for a very long time."

Collins was in the thick of several likely All Black raids, popping one pass for Daniel Carter's try and making the charge which led to Andrew Hore's disallowed try.

The lineout had not clicked but there was little between success and dysfunction in that area of the game.

"You can go all right for three weeks and then you can have a dud week. The Africans played with heaps of intensity and they attack the lineout."

There was not a great deal of difference between the teams. The All Blacks had conceded penalties at crucial stages and parts of the field which hindered their momentum. The Boks had taken their chances.

"Their careers were in the balance, their jobs were on the line," Collins said.

It could have been one game too far for the All Blacks - they may have been guilty of thinking about their upcoming rest after retaining the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations trophies.

"We got a few rough calls, but that's life, that's rugby," Collins said before sharing the traditional post-match drink with his rivals.

Behind the pack, five-eighths Carter was not allowed to make the impact he has produced in the earlier matches. He still went past 100 points for the Tri-Nations series but the Springboks limited his time on the ball and lineout uncertainty reduced the platform to work from.

It was another reminder of the struggles the All Blacks had endured in their past two years playing in South Africa.

"We never got on a roll. It was pretty frustrating making half breaks and breaks and getting in behind them and then turning it over or knocking on or they would get in our way," Carter said.

The frustration grew because Carter felt the Springboks had not gone to a greater level while the All Blacks were stuck in third gear. "We were probably going through the motions out there a little bit," he said. "We did not play sensible footy."

When the All Blacks split the defences, Carter could not explain the lack of finishing.

There was the old adage about learning more from a loss than a win and he said the defeat would stick with him for some time.

His five-eighths opponent Andre Pretorius had directed the Springboks' attack wisely. He had been able to keep the ball in front of his pack, kicking to the corners or varying the width of his pass.