In Rugby, South Africa's 36-34 victory over New Zealand in Wellington was a remarkable feat for the Springboks. It's left the men in black licking their wounds, while their opponents were grinning all the way home. CGTN's Sias du Plessis explains why.

Siya Kolisi believes that the reason his team claimed an unlikely victory over the old foe was due to a never-say-die attitude. The Springbok captain maintains that the drive and determination not to disappoint a teammate, pushed the former two-time world champions to hold on for a shock result in the New Zealand capital, only their 36th in 96 meetings.

SIYA KOLISI SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN "He didn't speak a lot. It has actually been a regular week a normal week, he has actually took or put more responsibility on the players, took responsibility off the coach. We asked for more so we could do more, and it was a normal or regular week for us, and I think we just wanted to play for one another."

The skipper says that during the game at the Westpac Stadium, the only thing his charges could think about was to stave off the challenge from their hosts.

SIYA KOLISI SOUTH AFRICA FLANKER "The thing that was running in my head was am I working hard enough? Am I giving my best at all times? That was all that was going through our heads throughout the whole game, and that's what's been driven into us by the coaching staff, and that's what we expect of each other as well."

The Springboks made over 235 tackles compared to their opposition, who dominated possession and only had to make 61, but the challenge now is to maintain the standard set in Wellington for the next encounter against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld next month.

SIYA KOLISI SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN "That is the tough part that is what we spoke about after the game. That is what we need to do. That kind of the standard we set defensively, it is basically the best game we played and we took our opportunities, and I think that is the most important thing it is building for that. That is what we are going to be working on."

SIAS DU PLESSIS JOHANNESBURG "Victories over the All Blacks are hard to come by, and although the win here in 1995 is arguably the most famous of them all, the triumph in Wellington will go down as one of the most impressive, purely down to fact that defensively the Springboks were immense, and because no one gave them a chance against the top team in world rugby. It will be savoured for some time but, more importantly, it also comes at a time when the Springbok rugby was in dire need of a lift. Sias du Plessis, CGTN, Johannesburg."