Springboks 'not polished' yet as focus shifts to All Blacks

South Africa saved their best performance for last by beating Wales 30-14 in the third Test at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, but coach Jacques Nienaber knows there is still much improvement needed. 

PLAYER RATINGS | SA v Wales, 3rd Test

The Boks won the series 2-1, and their dominance on Saturday goes a long way towards moving on from the shocking 13-12 loss they suffered - albeit with an experimental team - in Bloemfontein the week before.

Coach Jacques Nienaber was largely satisfied with the improvement his side showed in a few key areas, but he knows there is a lot more needed if the Boks are going to challenge for the Rugby Championship that starts next month. 

New Zealand have their own worries after losing a home series to Ireland on Saturday, but the All Blacks still remain the biggest test of where the Boks are. The rivalry will be renewed on 6 August when the sides meet in Nelspruit. 

"I think there is a lot to build still. It's not the polished performance yet," Nienaber said after the match. 

He bemoaned his side's inability to finish off scoring opportunities, while he also felt that they weren't as clinical as they could be at set pieces. 

"I thought set pieces functioned well, but there were still a couple of hiccups there," he said.

"At scrum time we're still getting used to the brake foot rule, and that's something that northern hemisphere sides also struggled with in the Six Nations, but they got the hang of it. We will get better at that.

"We will have to build a lot still in terms of where we are. If you look at the results currently, I think for a spectator it is brilliant. There is lots of competition within the top 10 nations in the world."

Nienaber was pleased, though, in the improvement he has seen in the