Newcomer Ethan Hooker says the Springboks remain focused on winning the Rugby Championship despite suffering a second defeat of the campaign.

The Boks failed to breach New Zealand’s Eden Park fortress on Saturday as the All Blacks stretched their unbeaten run at the venue to 51 Tests.

Captain Jesse Kriel and coach Rassie Erasmus both admitted that a high error rate and missed opportunities proved costly in the 24-17 defeat, with heavy, stop-start rain further disrupting the Boks’ rhythm.

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Hooker, however, refused to blame the conditions.

“We leaned more towards the kicking game, but there’s no excuses for that. The weather is part of the game and we’ve just got to get over those obstacles.”

Making only his second Test appearance, the 22-year-old Sharks utility back says his Eden Park debut will remain a career highlight.

“It was a very surreal experience for me just being at Eden Park, the vibe, the energy – it was all unbelievable and just a real privilege for me to say I’ve played a Test match there.”

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Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash in Wellington, Hooker is backing the Boks to bounce back and keep their title ambitions alive.

“We obviously try to win every game that we play and we’ve just got to take the learnings into this week and hopefully we can be better.

“The ultimate goal for us is to win the Rugby Championship, so we all need to get on the same page this week and grind it out and then hopefully we’ll be on top.”

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Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images