Cape Town - As the Springboks prepare for this weekend's clash against the All Blacks in Pretoria, they do so in the knowledge that they will have to wait at least another year to win their first Rugby Championship title since 2009.
The All Blacks beat Argentina in the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time) to ensure that they won their sixth title in seven years.
For Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, however, winning the Rugby Championship was not the most important thing for his side this year.
"We didn't target any logs ... we just wanted to grow as a team. It's the first time that we've ever worked together as a team so we didn't have any target," he said after Saturday's 23-12 win against the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth.
"We just took it game for game and tried to get better week after week.
"I think there has been growth and that was our ultimate goal."
The Springboks will finish as runners-ups in the 2018 edition of the competition regardless of the result on Saturday.