Smit says South Africa can not get any worse

By Greg Stutchbury

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - South Africa captain John Smit said on Saturday the world champions could not play any worse after their 19-8 loss to New Zealand in the Tri-Nations opener.

"We came here very purposeful and very much with the belief within ourselves that we could win over here," Smit told reporters.

"I think that was as poorly as we can play in the Tri-Nations and we can certainly only get better from here.

"There is a hell of a lot still to give. I think that is where we are most disappointed.

The loss ended a 14-match winning streak for the Springboks and extended New Zealand's winning sequence at home to 30. They have not lost at home to South Africa for 10 years.

"I thought they defended well and kicked much better than us and we certainly did not deserve to win tonight," Smit added.

"While we would have liked things to run differently they haven't. We do have another crack next week."

The teams meet at Carisbrook in Dunedin next Saturday.