Scrumhalf Aaron Smith has highlighted the tackle point as an area where the All Blacks need to show rapid improvement if they are to bounce back and scalp the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Smith believes the All Blacks “made strides” in certain areas in the Rugby Championship opener at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, despite going down 26-10 in their first loss in South Africa in eight years.

Malcolm Marx turned in a superb performance in his 50th Test appearance for the Boks, tormenting the All Blacks at the breakdown to win four turnovers in his 53 minutes on the park.

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Speaking after the match, New Zealand’s veteran scrumhalf Smith rued the visitors’ inability to keep the ball for long periods of time.

“What went wrong was our ability to build pressure with the ball,” reflected Smith to the New Zealand Herald after the match. “We were missing our cleanouts, they were just too good on the ball and then we had a couple of opportunities to break them and we couldn’t get it done.

“Their ability to soak the tackle and get on the ball really quickly was what they were really good at, at certain times. And then just our discipline to build pressure … we would win a moment and then make a mistake and in their half, we would turn the ball over, or ill-discipline or a simple knock on.”

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The All Blacks’ loss to the Springboks was the fifth in six Tests after three defeats by Ireland – two of those coming in the home series in New Zealand – and another by France in Paris.

Despite the awful recent run of form, Smith tried to put on a brave face and insisted that New Zealand remain confident of getting a win in next weekend’s rematch against the Boks at Ellis Park.

“I wouldn’t call it down in confidence,” Smith said. “We are working really hard as a group. There is no doubt the group wants to be better and that it is trying. We made a lot of strides this weekend against a quality team.

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“There are things we can fix and control around the breakdown. We have got to respect the ball and we can’t let teams dictate to us around the breakdown. As a halfback it is pretty noticeable when we get really quick ball and we miss one cleanout and it is done.

“We knew what was coming. They are big men. I thought our forwards were outstanding. Our ability to stop their maul. The scrum could be better, but you give the ref a scrum toss at the scrum and anything can happen.

“But our ability to defuse their bombs is something we need to fix. Their tactics there are a little bit borderline. You see Beaudy Barrett do a full flip is pretty scary. That part of the game that needs to be looked at.

“We have got to do a bit better to protect our jumpers as we saw that when we stopped them on our 30-metre line, they just put a bomb up. That works for them.”

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