Australia coach Eddie Jones said he endured "a long day at the office" in Pretoria on Saturday after a disastrous start to his second stint in charge of the Wallabies.
Upbeat before the Rugby Championship opener against understrength South Africa, he watched his team crash 43-12, concede two penalties tries and have two players yellow-carded.
"We just got beaten to the punch," he admitted after Australia suffered an eighth consecutive loss at Loftus Versfeld since first playing there 60 years ago.
"We really got beaten in the set pieces. We got beaten on the gain line. We got beaten in the air," said Jones.
"When you do not win any of those contests, it is going to be a long day at the office, which it was for us tonight.
"There was not too many positives. We went out there to play with a bit of pace and were able to do that for 20 minutes.
"But we were unable to convert any of the pressure we put on the Springboks into points and then, of course, they came back and every time they got an opportunity, they scored.
"Once they got on top at the set piece, they utilised their big ball runners, and there is no better team than South Africa, once they get an edge, to keep playing on top of you."
Jones inherited in January from sacked New Zealander Dave Rennie a team that lost nine of 13 internationals last season.
But the 63-year-old does not envisage a similar dismal run this season as they prepare for the Rugby World Cup in France from September 8.
Looking ahead to their second Rugby Championship match, against Argentina in Sydney on July 15, Jones said he was encouraged by the lineout work against South Africa.
"However, we must be more consistent in our set pieces. Our scrumming has to improve and we have got to find ways of getting over the gain line.
"If we fix those issues we will be back in the money against Argentina," said the coach who was also in charge of Australia for four years from 2001 and led them to the 2003 World Cup final.
Jones singled out the Australian try scorers, winger Marika Koroibete and substitute back Carter Gordon, for praise.
"I thought Marika was outstanding and Carter, coming on for his first Test in a difficult situation, showed he has a bright future."
Argentina fared almost as badly as Australia in the first round, conceding seven tries to New Zealand in a 41-12 loss in Mendoza and avoiding bottom place on points difference.
dl/mtp
