'No point sulking about defeat in Mbombela' - Ian Foster

New Zealand head coach Ian Foster has urged his players to move on from the defeat against South Africa at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

The game which was also the opening game of the 2022 Rugby Championship saw Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie Le Roux score tries for the Springboks while Handre Pollard kicked 16 points steering them to a 26-10 victory.

The defeat was also New Zealand's fifth defeat in six Tests that saw them drop to fifth position in the World Rugby Rankings.

Foster, who was under criticism following a recent home series against Ireland admitted that there is pressure but has challenged the side to overcome it when they head to Johannesburg for the second game on 13th August.

"We know there's a lot of pressure on, and we're feeling that. But our job is to look at our performance and how we can grow it," he said.

"I understand the frustration, but that doesn't change what we have to do here.

"There's no point sulking about it for too long. We've just got to get into Ellis Park and keep growing our game and still believe."

Foster also reckons the defeat against the Springboks was All Blacks' most improved performance in the year.

“I felt it was probably our most improved performance this year,” he added.

“I felt in some areas we really shifted our game forward. In a game dominated by defence, we defended well, but our timing was out on the attack side and we’re going to have to have a look at that.”