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South Africa captain John Smit said his side could play no worse after their 19-8 Tri-Nations defeat by New Zealand.

The world champions suffered their first loss in almost a year, Jerome Kaino's second-half try sealing the win for the All Blacks in Wellington.

"I think that was as poorly as we can play in the Tri-Nations, we can only get better," said Smit. "There is a hell of a lot still to give."

South Africa travel to Dunedin to play the All Blacks again next Saturday.

Despite scoring the first try of the tournament through Bryan Habana, Smit admitted his side had been outplayed by the reigning Tri-Nations champions.

"I thought they defended well and kicked much better than us and we certainly did not deserve to win," said Smit, who was forced off the field with a groin injury on 35 minutes.

"While we would have liked things to run differently they haven't. There is a hell of a lot still to give. I think that is where we are most disappointed."

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The victory extended New Zealand's unbeaten home record to 30 Tests and coach Graham Henry admitted the motivation of beating the world champions at home brought the best of out of his players.

"It's the biggest Test match we play, it generally brings the best out of both teams," he said. "They're currently the world champions and I think that brings a lot out of our guys as well.

"They respect the South Africans and they played that way because they respect them."

The match at the Westpac Stadium was the first international match to be played under the International Rugby Board's new Experimental Law Variations, which had been adopted during this season's Super 14 competition.

Although wet conditions in Wellington made slick passing rugby almost impossible, Smit said the new laws did not help the flow of the game.

"I didn't get a full chance to experience them and my 35 minutes weren't the most fun I've had," he said.

"There was a lot of standing around in the middle with a lot of aimless kicking going on. The competitive situation seems the same but there seems to be a little bit less in terms of direction."