Kolisi rues missed bonus points in Wallaby, All Black defeats as Boks ponder what could have been

In Durban

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi ruefully admitted that the manner of their defeats in the Rugby Championship cost them dearly in the long run.

The 35-23 Ellis Park loss to the All Blacks and the 25-17 defeat to the Wallabies denied the Boks crucial losing bonus points that would have come in handy for them

They were one point behind the All Blacks after their 38-21 win against Argentina at Kings Park, but they needed to win by a clear 39 points and get a bonus point while doing so.

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The two latter things didn't happen, leaving Kolisi to rue what could have been for them in a tournament where they were at times, they were utterly dominant on the field, but didn't have the requisite points to show for that effort.

"We did everything in our power to win the game, but one has to look back at our two defeats and realise those are the missing points," Kolisi said.

"The margins of defeat in those games were too wide. If we fought hard and narrowed the margin of defeat in those games, we'd be having a different conversation today.

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"We weren’t going to be chasing a massive score like today, but the one takeaway from the game was that we've improved as a team.

"We're getting better as a side and we've won three consecutive matches, so we need to take that momentum with us to the end-of-year tour.

"We'll be tested as a team and that'll give us a fair idea of where we need to improve as a team ahead of the World Cup."

Kolisi though was chuffed with how they bounced back from their consecutive defeats against the All Blacks and the Wallabies to rebound in the