Certainly there was no question which was the superior team in both key facets.
However, New Zealand should be cut a degree of slack.
It is the earliest start to a home international season, apart from those who took part in the Champions League in India last month for Northern Districts. It wasn't as if they were playing, say, Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. South Africa are a formidable outfit any time, and showed it.
Rust was all too visible, although Luke Ronchi didn't seem unduly bothered, having only his second and third bats since July, with rousing, and potentially highly significant, innings of 99 and 79 in the Mt Maunganui double last week.
The series showed up how important Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are to the batting operation at No's 3 and 4. As South African quick Morne Morkel admitted on Sunday, take two of their senior performers out and they, too, would not find filling the voids that easy either.
In everything New Zealand do until January 7, when the World Cup 15 must be named, that tournament will be the focus.
Sure, they will want success for its own sake against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates over November and December -- and Pakistan have just demonstrated how challenging they will be by walloping Australia in the first test of their series.
But every player should be aware of what is at stake.
Positives out of the South African series?
Set aside Ronchi's shining performance with the bat, and the five seamers used showed -- although all need more work -- that there is a real battle ahead for what is likely to be four cup spots for the specialists.
Left arm spinner Dan Vettori completed a tidy return to the international game.
The fielding was pleasingly sharp, Martin Guptill, Brendon and Nathan McCullum on the job inside the 30m circle. No catches were spilled.
South African Faf du Plessis labelled New Zealand the best fielding outfit in the game -- no small praise considering he is a standout in a side who are pretty sharp themselves.
The problems? Yesterday's rain was a shame on several counts, including a missed chance for Guptill and Jimmy Neesham at the top of the order.
Guptill has battled to find his touch, managing 16 runs off 58 balls; Neesham is an experiment. Tom Latham is awaiting his turn. How they work that conundrum in the UAE will be interesting.
Corey Anderson lasted only five balls for a solitary single in his two innings. Anderson and Neesham's combined fifth/sixth bowler work with the ball in the two completed games produced 18-1-120-4. Not good enough.
Conditions in the UAE will be as far remove as possible from New Zealand and Australia at cup time -- or any time for that matter.
Still Brendon McCullum reckons getting away for a few weeks as the anticipation rises might not be a bad thing, tying down loose planning ends and a time to bond.
But some wins wouldn't hurt either.
- David Leggat of the New Zealand Herald, in Hamilton
