Kwagga Smith says the Springboks are definitely still in the running to win the Rugby Championship despite suffering back-to-back losses against New Zealand and Australia.

After starting the campaign strongly with a win over New Zealand in Mbombela, the Springboks have slipped to two successive losses against the All Blacks in Johannesburg and Wallabies in Adelaide.

MORE: Nienaber on the chopping block?

Jacques Nienaber and his side are now under pressure to bounce back strongly in their last three games of the competition.

The Boks will meet Argentina – who beat the All Blacks in Christchurch on Saturday – in their last two Rugby Championship clashes in Buenos Aires and Durban, respectively, after Saturday’s encounter in Sydney.

“We are definitely still in the competition,” said a defiant Smith. “The big thing for us will be to stop Australia’s momentum because they got good momentum on Saturday. We’ll have to work hard to bounce back.”

MORE: Kwagga shines while Boks flop in Adelaide

Smith pointed to wasted opportunities as the big area where the Springboks need to improve in Sydney on Saturday.

“[The loss] was not through a lack of effort. We had opportunities to score points, but we need to be more effective at rounding them off.

“Australia, in turn, had opportunities and they used them and got points easily. It is now a case of going back to basics and ensuring that we are ready for the next game in seven days.”

Photo: EPA/James Ross/BackpagePix