Springbok captain John Smit refused to make any excuses for his team's surprisingly big 6-21 loss to Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, which left the front door open for New Zealand to walk in and take the Tri-Nations crown away.

The two-tries-to-none win by the Wallabies left the Boks still needing two points to win the series, having lost the opportunity to seal the deal this week.

As the Bok skipper, Smit, said, they now have to go to Hamilton in New Zealand next week and collect two points against the All Blacks or hope the Kiwis don't get more than nine points in their last two games.

It is a tall order indeed, to win in Hamilton, but Smit knows what his team has to do.

"We have one more chance," Smit said in his post match reaction.

"We have one more game and we have to make the most of our game in Hamilton," he said  about the trip across the Tasman Sea this week.

The Bok captain said the Wallabies were "deserved winners", but felt his team has it within themselves to produce one more big game.

"We have a great week ahead of us, let's make sure we finish it in style," Smit said.

He refused to use the slippery conditions a an excuse for his team's error-riddled performance.

"It was the same for both sides, we just did not play the right game," Smit said of what was his team's second defeat of the year in their eighth Test.

And he also did not use the set pieces as an excuse either, even though the Bok scrum was under pressure and they conceded a few penalties again - an area in which they are having major issues with match officials.

"We won our own, but not enough of theirs," he said of the line-outs and simply did not comment on the scrums.

Even a suggestion that the second week of the tour, when sleep patterns are often disturbed and preparations not as good, is a problem, was dismissed by Smit.

"Excuses are for losers, there are no excuses - they were just better."

365

Wallaby player ratings We rate the Wallabies players' performance during their victory over the Springboks.

Springbok player ratings We rate the Springboks' performance during their 6-21 loss to the Wallabies on Saturday.

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