New Zealand coach Mike Hesson faced an uncomfortable time in front of the media after his side's capitulation in the face of South Africa's bowling attack, for the second time on this tour.

Day two saw the Black Caps end the day on 47 for six, almost echoing their 45 all out in the first Test at Newlands, and Hesson was left to face the humiliation while trying to explain what went wrong. The Kiwis were eventually all out for 121 on day three.

An obvious gap in the Kiwi batting line up is the one usually filled by Ross Taylor, who was stripped of the captaincy before the tour and then decided to stay in New Zealand. As the country's best player, Taylor is sorely missed, even though he and Hesson have a tempestuous relationship.

But the coach says he never wanted Taylor to miss the tour, although he feels that his players have the talent to play better than they have. He then admitted that the world's number one side had 'outclassed' his players most of the time.

He said: "I've said all along we'd be a far better side if Ross Taylor was here. But we've also got some other fine batsmen, who haven't quite been able to show it in those first three innings and they've got one more innings in this Test match. I'm sure they will be very determined to make a difference."

The coach tried to defend his players, adding: "We prepared really well. We knew what we were going to be confronted with. The most disappointing thing was that when we were under pressure, we weren't able to cope.

"We spent five and a half sessions out there, so we knew what to expect from the conditions. The pressure is sustained. Guys are under pressure in terms of pace and bounce and their techniques are getting exposed. I know the guys are working extremely hard and that why it's disappointing.

"We sustained pressure at times but they coped with it and that's the thing we are struggling to do. When we get pressure enforced on us, we struggled to get through and the more you talk about it, the harder it gets.

"South Africa is a very tough place to tour. They are the world No.1 side for a reason. They replaced Vernon Philander with Rory Kleinveldt - another high-class bowler. Once their bowlers smell a bit of blood, they are ruthless."

Hesson emphasised how hard the players had been working, especially after the humiliation in Cape Town. That game ended two days early after the Proteas won by an innings and 27 runs, but while the local players went to the beach, the Kiwis went to work in the nets.

Hesson insisted: "The players are working extremely hard to get better. After the last Test, we could have put our feet up and gone oh well, tomorrow is another day. The guys know that we are nowhere near where we need to be and we are putting the work in. The players are trying their very best but we are being outclassed.

"We all share the load. I can't fault the work ethic. We've got a support staff who work extremely hard but this Test match and the last Test match, we just haven't been up to it..

"All of us start to think if we are challenged in whether we are doing the right things and whether we are challenging the players in the right way but I can't fault the work ethic.

"We train hard, we train bounce and swing, we ramp the machine up and work on that and maybe we've got to do that more. We are just touching the surface in that area. Guys don't like to be challenged too much but we are making training more difficult and that's something we will look to continue."