THE PAIN of costly little errors was greater for Luke Charteris than the shiner he sported under his left eye from a stray boot or the bruises from breaking a fall from a line-out with his face.

The Newport Gwent Dragons lock was not in the mood for excuses after the game at the Millennium Stadium, and avoided any consolation talk about the gap between Wales and New Zealand narrowing.

While coach Warren Gatland was quick to have yet another whinge, this time pointing the finger at South African referee Craig Joubert, Charteris felt that Wales had only themselves to blame.

“There are no complaints over the ref – they won, simple as that and the period after half-time cost us again,” said the 26-year-old, who started his first game against big southern hemisphere opposition.

“Warren said afterwards that we can’t be happy with another defeat like that and the boys are with him on that. We are good enough to compete and to win these games and and until we learn to do that it is not acceptable.

“Over the last few years we have been capable of winning. The belief is in the team, we know we can do it, it is just a case of putting it together.

“We just have little spells that cost us, if you give a team like that, so clinical, a chance they will take it so you have to learn to play without making those little errors.”

Charteris won his 15th cap on Saturday with his record standing at eight wins and seven losses, his appearances against the All Black and Springboks always ending in defeat.

The 6ft 9in lock feels he is growing in stature on the international stage, but is keen to use the pain of defeat as a catalyst to claim his first big scalp when the Australian head to Cardiff in three weeks.

“It was tough out there but it was no tougher than playing any other international team,” he said.

“We are in good enough shape to match any team in terms of physicality so the thing that will push us up towards the top two or three places in world rugby is cutting out those little errors.

“I enjoyed it out there and playing in that atmosphere is where you want to be. It gives you an incredible rush and to be part of that is awesome.

“Now I want to be part of that and win because I am sure that feeling afterwards would be ten times as good.

“We have got two big games before Australia. We have got to learn from this and use the frustration as motivation.”