Pressure shifts to Springboks after All Blacks bounce back: 'It's hard to win all the time'

A week after enjoying the adulation of South African rugby supporters, the Springboks found themselves back at square one after losing to New Zealand's All Blacks in a wide-open southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber faced some tough questioning after his team lost 35-23 to the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

With Argentina beating Australia in another reverse of the previous week's results, all four teams had one win and one loss after the first two rounds of the championship.

The All Blacks will try to build on Saturday's success with two home games against Argentina on August 27 and September 3, while the Springboks have a tough assignment with two matches against the Wallabies in Australia.

The win was particularly sweet for the All Blacks after they were mauled by their critics following a 26-10 defeat in Mbombela a week earlier.

Coach Ian Foster suggested that the All Blacks were in the process of turning around their fortunes after losing five of their previous six games.

"It's hard to win all the time," said Foster. "When you look at long-term success it often starts with adversity, with a low point. We're bringing a few young boys in and trying a few new combinations but it takes time and some people are impatient.

"I understand the frustrations, but inside the camp what means a lot to us is how we pull together, work hard and improve the areas where we need to perform."

Nienaber came under scrutiny for some of his selections, notably the decision to start with the relatively untried Joseph Dweba at hooker instead of Malcolm Marx, who was man of the match in Mbombela.

Dweba was replacing the injured Bongi Mbonambi, who has shared game time with Marx over the past three years. But