'It obviously hurts' - All Blacks react to record defeat to Springboks

The All Blacks fronted the day after their record defeat to South Africa with little to offer beyond acknowledgement.

Players used the word hurt repeatedly, describing a dressing room that was quiet rather than combustible. Several were direct that the performance did not reflect a lack of preparation so much as an inability to match physical intensity when it mattered.

Attention turned quickly to what the loss reveals about depth in the tight five and about whether the attacking approach that worked at Eden Park is viable when the platform disappears.

Coach Scott Robertson said the review would be uncomfortable and necessary, and that the response would be measured in the next Test rather than in press conferences.