Wales coach Steve Tandy admitted his side's record 73-0 defeat to the Springboks in Cardiff was "hard to watch".
The world champions handed the hosts their heaviest-ever loss on home soil.
It closed out a bruising year that saw the men in red 'nilled' twice and win just once in the autumn window, against lowly Japan.
"It's always disappointing to lose any game, but obviously the margin stings," Tandy said. "It's always hard to watch where you feel it's hard to get any grip of the game. It's really raw for the group. It's not for the want of trying or lack of effort."
MORE: Springboks gaze down on rugby world
Wales failed to score a point at home for the first time since 1967, compounding what Tandy acknowledged was "a tough moment" for a proud rugby nation.
"We don't want to be losing at home, let alone by that scoreline," he said.
Despite the magnitude of the loss, Tandy insisted he remains energised by the rebuild.
"I'm excited for the opportunity. I know that's probably hard to understand now," he said. "I believe in this group and where we can go. Throughout history, there's been moments where you have these scoreboards, but it's not a lack of desire or effort. There's a lot of talent - we've got to nurture it and bring it through quicker."
The fixture raised eyebrows across Welsh rugby, with the WRU forced to field an understrength side missing 13 England- and France-based players due to the Test falling outside World Rugby's window. But Tandy refused to lean on that as an excuse.
ALSO: Rassie proud of 'hungry' Boks
"The fixture is the fixture - you can't change that," he said. "We need games of rugby as a nation that wants to get better. I'm not going to sit here and throw stones because ultimately it's my job to coach the team."
Facing a Springbok squad packed with experience, even minus their own unavailable players, Tandy conceded Wales had simply been outclassed.
"We knew it was going to be tough against the world champions," he said. "We've come up against a team that is much further down the track than us. That's not an excuse - the lessons are big, and we need to learn from them."