Schmidt: We contributed to our own downfall
Ireland pushed the Springboks all the way in the third and final Test in Port Elizabeth, but eventually lost 13-19 after some stern defence from the home side towards the end of the game.
The series was tied at 1-1 before the match at the Nelson Mandela Stadium. Ireland won the first Test at Newlands 26-20, before the Springboks fought back in the second Test to win 32-26.
"Not taking anything away from the Springboks, but sometimes you don't quite feel that you get what you deserve for the amount of effort you put into it," said Schmidt after the game.
"When another team is putting in the equal effort and they manage to keep you out, it's always disappointing. The thing that was probably most disappointing for us was that we contributed to our own downfall – just a couple of skill execution things and one score again swings in our favour.
"That is how close we came and that's probably even more frustrating than if we hadn't got that close. But the one thing it's not is a victory and that is what we were after."
Despite not being able to make history, Ireland captain Rory Best said they proved that they could compete with a Southern Hemisphere giant in their own backyard.
"Before we left Dublin people had written us off," said Best. "As a group we felt that we could come here and win a Test series.
"After Cape Town we put ourselves in a fantastic position to do that and to have fallen short is bitterly disappointing.
"With it being a six-point game in all three Tests, it shows how tight it was."
Meanwhile, With the June international window now done and dusted, Schmidt believes the gap between Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams is not that big anymore.
"There is no chasm there – it's not huge," said Schmidt. "What England managed to achieve in clean sweeping Australia was exceptional and I don't think we did to badly either.
"I felt this [South Africa] is a pretty tough place to tour. I have been in the country a lot of times with Super Rugby and you don't get offered too much on a plate. You got to go and find your own food and rummage for anything you do get on the points table."
By Warren Fortune, in Port Elizabeth
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
