All Blacks will come back stronger after loss, says Parker

The bitter taste of defeat after losing the second Test in Cape Town will ensure the All Blacks bounce back with fire in their bellies against the Springboks in Soweto on Saturday, loose forward Simon Parker said.

With teams locked up at 1-1 in a four-Test series, the stakes could not be higher for a showdown expected to attract a crowd of 80,000 vuvuzela-toting fans at FNB Stadium.

“I think there’s no bigger motivator than losing,” Parker said.

“So the good thing is we got another weekend, another game to prepare for, and that’ll be where our focus goes.

“But yeah, there’s no excuse for how we were in Cape Town. They were just the better team on the day, and yeah, looking forward to Saturday.

“I think that’s just Test footy, isn’t it?

“So those one-percenters you don’t get right, they’re able to capitalise on and probably convert more into points than they did in Johannesburg. They got off to a fast start.”

“Yeah, they always start well. I thought we showed up well.

“We matched them physically, but like I say, they were able to put us under pressure at the breakdown and convert that into points, and that was the difference in the end.

“I think the ability of our bench to come on and make an impact will be crucial on Saturday.

“You know, any of those guys could be starting each week, but for them, it’s massive for us to make a difference and come on. Yeah, you saw that at the end there.”

Rennie said he was proud of his team despite the loss in Cape Town.

“We’re well aware of the quality of the team they put out,” he said.

“Look, I was really proud of our boys.

“We were under the pump at various times and showed a lot of character and fight to stay in that game and could have stolen the draw right at the end of the game.

“So yeah, they started pretty well. I think we left a couple of opportunities out in the park in the first half, and they spent a lot of time down our end of the field.

“They get a lot of their high ball stuff back, and so that was a big part of the game.

“They were able to slow a bit of our ball down, and so we didn’t quite get the sort of continuity that we needed at times, but we created a lot, so there are these little elements that will need to be better, but we’ll bounce back on Saturday.

“Their carrying and cleaning allowed the Boks to spend a lot of time down at our end of the field.

“They were also able to slow a bit of our ball down.”

Rennie is expected to name his team for the third Test on Thursday.