All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has acknowledged South Africa's superiority after his side fell 43-28 to the Springboks in Baltimore, surrendering the Greatest Rivalry series 3-1 in the process.
The defeat means New Zealand have lost three consecutive Tests against South Africa for the first time since 2009. It is a bitter turnaround from a series that opened with a 33-16 All Blacks win at Ellis Park.
"We're gutted. We were confident that if we got a few things right tonight, we would have had a good chance of winning, and we fell short," Rennie said after the final whistle at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Springboks outscored the All Blacks six tries to four, but Rennie pointed to the underlying numbers as cause for measured optimism. "If you look at the numbers, it was a very even game tonight, bar the score. We probably conceded a bit chasing the game late but felt even with 15 to go we were right in it."
High-ball handling was again identified as a problem area, though Rennie was encouraged by his side's set-piece. "The high ball put us under a little more heat again tonight. We couldn't grab a lot of those. I thought set-piece was excellent — our scrum and line-out, so I thought that was a real positive."
On South Africa's finishing, he was unequivocal: "They were electric and really clinical when they got their opportunities. That was probably a key point."
Rennie framed the four-Test tour — which involved a travelling squad of 49 players — as a development exercise despite the series result. "The result hurts, but I am proud of the effort, excited about where our game's heading and knowing that we need to be better."