Cane insists All Blacks on right track
WELLINGTON: Don't panic.
That is essentially the message from All Black captain Sam Cane in the wake of the side's consecutive losses to Australia and Argentina, results which have left new coach Ian Foster with just two wins from his first five tests in charge.
Cane said the brickbats aimed the team were unfounded and that few people really knew what the side was going through.
``I think we've got amazing fans, but we've also got some pretty brutal ones,'' Cane told Sky Sports Breakdown.
``With that, you've just got to remind yourself that, ‘Hey, they might like to think they know a lot about the game of rugby, but really they don't'.
``They may know the game from what they see in the 80 minutes, but they don't see a lot of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes.''
Cane is defending Foster who has been heavily criticised in the wake of the All Blacks’ first loss to Argentina at the weekend.
Cane said Foster had given the side a clear approach that worked as evidenced by the 435 win over the Wallabies two weeks ago in Sydney.
‘‘[I've] been really impressed with Foz [Foster] with the way he has stood up. He has given us a really clear focus on what we need to do.
‘‘It doesn't feel like we are bogged down and don't have the answers . . . it was only two weeks ago everyone was singing our praises’’
Cane understands the pressure Foster is under.
‘‘If I am having my leadership questioned in public, the people’s opinion who really matter to me are my teammates and the coaches who I work with every single day . . . and I have a lot of confidence we are on the right track.’’
While Argentina managed to beat the All Blacks despite not having played a test in over a year and having been under strict Covid19 isolation protocols,
Cane maintains the All Blacks are feeling the impact of five tests in six weeks.
‘‘The only time we play so many tests would be at a World Cup and we certainly can't underestimate the toll it takes on some guys being away from home and we have a lot of young dads . . . these aren't excuses, it's just the reality,’’ Cane said. — RNZ