Warren Gatland’s side went down 24-15 to South Africa yesterday evening despite Leigh Halfpenny kicking five penalties.
The Springboks scored three tries, captain Jean de Villiers and Bismarck du Plessis crossing in the first half while Hook admitted Fourie du Preez’s second half effort proved vital.
Morne Steyn had added two conversions and a penalty before going off injured. It was a brutal encounter and Wales felt the full force of the action themselves. Centre Jonathan Davies, Adam Jones and Liam Williams all left the field in the first 40 minutes though Wales trailed by just five points at the break.
But in the second half, the physical nature of the game took its toll on some tired bodies and du Preez struck a dagger to Welsh hearts.
“We were positive going into this game and we know how good a team the Springboks are,” said Hook.
“We felt we could go out there and beat them and if we played them again next week, we’d fancy our chances.
“We’ve targeted three wins and now obviously there are three games left so we want to get a win next week and kick on this autumn.
“There are a few black eyes and some sore bodies so we’ll rest up, come back in on Monday and see how everybody is. We’ll look forward to next week against Argentina. After a defeat, the boys won’t need any motivation.”
Following the reverse against South Africa, Wales now look forward to further Dove Men Series clashes with Argentina, Tonga and Australia. Last autumn saw Argentina leave the Millennium Stadium with a 26-12 victory and for next week’s return fixture, Wales will definitely be without the injured Davies.
“It was real bad luck, it’s one of those things you can’t do anything about,” said Hook, referring to Wales’ first half injury troubles.
“Boys like Adam Jones and Jonathan Davies are key players for us. It was disappointing as Jonathan Davies had been playing so well up until that point – he’d made two clean breaks.
“At the end of the first half we threw the kitchen sink at them and in fairness, they defended well.”
With Davies and Williams both forced off, Hook was one of the men to enter the action. The Perpignan back replaced Williams at full back with Halfpenny switching to the wing.
“It was nice to get on but we’re disappointed with the result,” Hook added.
“There were a couple of aerial things I could have worked on and we were hoping the second half would start like the end of the first. But they kept the ball, kicked well and with a couple of turnovers, we couldn’t quite get back into it.
“International rugby is always a step up, that goes without saying and it was the same today. It was a tough physical battle and a fast game.
“Maybe we were a little bit slow out of the blocks but we can get three wins in the next three games if we work hard.”
