South Africa's hopes of using the first two Tri-Nations matches to turn a squad of youngsters into hardened Test players able to bolster the fringes of their World Cup party lay in tatters at the weekend after a second successive heavy defeat.
Although the Bok performance was a step up from the defeat in Sydney, the All Blacks ruthlessly pounced on turnover ball and ran in six tries in a 40-7 victory.
Coach Peter de Villiers felt he had been let down by some players. "I'm very disappointed," he said. "A Test match to me is the ultimate, you do have the opportunity to come out there and represent your country. There's a few guys who did put their hands up and there's a few who didn't, so for me and for South African rugby, I think there's a lot of clarity."
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