South Africa will have to defy history if they are to bounce back from their loss to New Zealand and go on and win the Rugby World Cup.

For never before has a team won the Webb Ellis Cup after having lost a pool game.

England and France have both made the final having lost earlier games -- the French lost two pool games in 2011 -- but to date lifting the trophy has meant going through the tournament unbeaten.

"I guess that's the challenge we'll have to now take. History is there to break," said South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus after his side lost 23-13 to New Zealand in their Pool B opener in Yokohama.

(South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus)

"Now we have to fight. But we can't moan about this performance. We just have to work really hard."

As Erasmus pointed out, they had fought back against the All Blacks after going 17-3 down to close within four points at one stage, so fighting back to win the whole tournament is not beyond them.

"If you are grouped with New Zealand in a pool, then there is a good chance you are not going to go undefeated," he said.

His New Zealand counterpart, Steve Hansen, certainly thought there was a good possibility the two sides could meet again on Nov. 2 in the tournament finale.

"History is there to be broken," he said. "Their mindset now is to win every game and I think they can if they get things right."

However, as Erasmus pointed out, there are plenty of teams that could prevent either of the two Southern Hemisphere powerhouses from going all the way.

"There are so many teams that can do well," he said, before reminding the media that South Africa still had to play Italy in their pool, a team they lost to in November 2016.

And if South Africa did make it to the final, did Erasmus think they would face the All Blacks again?

"When you look at the likes of England, Wales and Ireland, New Zealand will have some difficult issues going through to the final. There are other teams that can handle their kicking game better than we did on the day."

"But New Zealand are the favorites, they've always been and I've never had a doubt. But they will have different challenges against England, Ireland and Wales...And it will be interesting to see how they handle that."

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