South Africa captain Johann Muller had some choice words for Richie McCaw © Getty Images

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Match Pack: All Blacks set up Tri Nations showdown

Matches: New Zealand 33 - 6 South Africa

Players/Officials: Brendon Leonard

Stand-in Springboks skipper Johann Muller was angered by what he saw as the favourable treatment given to All Blacks captain Richie McCaw during the host's 33-6 victory in Christchurch.

Muller pointed the finger at referee Stuart Dickinson following the result insisting his handling of his New Zealand counterpart was the key to his side's defeat.

South Africa had to survive without flanker Pedrie Wannenburg when he was sin-binned for an offence at the breakdown and in the aftermath Muller questioned why McCaw was not given his marching orders for the same offence.

"If Richie McCaw had blond hair and wore a green jersey or had dreadlocks and wore a yellow jersey he would never finish a Test," Muller claimed, in reference to his fellow Springbok Schalk Bruger and Australia's George Smith - both flankers like McCaw.

"You want to play a fair game and you want to have a fair go at the breakdown and he (McCaw) is really making it difficult for us.

"The first infringement was down in their 22 and the words were 'playing the ball on the ground' and that was exactly the same words at the other end. The only extra word was 'cynical' - and I'm not exactly sure what that means."

South Africa coach Jake White also rued the loss of one of his players at a key stage in the clash, commenting, "You can't play a team like the All Blacks with 14 men with their athletic ability.

"If they had played with 14 men who knows what might have happened --you could tell that the crowd sensed that they weren't on their game."

All Blacks coach Graham Henry, whose side struggled to find top gear in the face of an excellent defensive performance by the under-strength Boks, said his team had positives to reflect on.

"We played most of the rugby and looked like scoring most of the tries and probably got a bit frustrated that we didn't score early," Henry said.

"That led to a lack of patience and discipline but I think it was a good step forward."

Looking ahead to the Tri Nations showdown with Australia, Henry added, "There's a huge Test match next week. I think it's great for the game of rugby."