All Blacks captain Sam Cane has backed his team mates to turn their dismal form around after a 26-10 loss at the hands of South Africa in Nelspruit on Saturday that leaves New Zealand with only one win in their last six matches.
The reversal in the Rugby Championship opener comes off the back of a home series defeat at the hands of Ireland last month and has increased the pressure on coach Ian Foster with little more than a year to go to the Rugby World Cup in France.
The All Blacks were comfortably beaten by the South Africans and scored their only try with the hosts short-handed after Kurt-Lee Arendse was sent off in the 75th minute for a dangerous tackle on Beauden Barrett while the flyhalf was in mid-air.
“The belief is really strong within the group,” Cane told reporters. “Even with five minutes to go, when the red card came, there was genuine belief.
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“It’s only something you can feel out on the field ... the group’s belief in ourselves, and what we’re trying to achieve, is very high and when you’ve got that and an attitude to work hard, it’s a good recipe.
“We’ve just got to stick at it and it will turn. If we didn’t have those things in place, I’d be pretty worried, but the right ingredients are there.”
Calls have grown for the dismissal of Foster and wholesale changes to the squad following the demoralising loss, with Cane acknowledging the All Blacks face a major task when they take on the world champions again at Ellis Park on Saturday.
“It’s one of the great challenges in test footy, playing South Africa over here, and the hostility of the crowd and the noise,” he said.
“If anything, and speaking on behalf of a lot of the boys, you love that ‘backs against the wall, us versus them’ and the stadium situation.”
Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse scored his first international try and was then red carded but the Springboks were more dominant than the scoreline suggests as they bossed the set-piece and breakdown, with hooker Malcolm Marx particularly devastating in the latter in his 50th test.
Replacement back Willie le Roux also crossed for a try and outhalf Handre Pollard kicked 17 points for the home side, who recorded their biggest win over the All Blacks since 1928 despite finishing the game with 14 players after Arendse was sent-off for a dangerous tackle in the air on 75 minutes.
South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber was pleased with his side’s improved accuracy but says they are “not the finished article” after their biggest victory over New Zealand in 94 years.
The Springboks ground the struggling All Blacks into submission with their stifling defence and excellence at the breakdown.
It was a vast improvement on the stuttering performances against Wales last month, where they won the home series 2-1, but failed to impress overall, something Nienaber acknowledged.
“I don’t think we’re a finished product yet. We did a good assessment after the Wales series and built on the stuff that we felt needed to be improved,” he told reporters.
“We’ve always wanted to win every single game, but for us, it’s also about improving on the goals that we’ve set out for ourselves.”
One of the major disappointments against Wales was the unforced errors and general inaccuracy, which meant they were unable to build sustained pressure on the tourists for large parts of the series.
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Nienaber believes that aspect was better against New Zealand.
“We spoke about pitching up with intensity during the week and trying to be accurate with what we’ve planned,” he said. “I thought we did that well. We had good intensity and I thought we executed our plans very well.”
Nienaber will be pleased to have got a comprehensive victory against a side expected to be a challenger to South Africa’s World Cup crown in France next year, though the ailing All Blacks have now lost five of their last six tests in a horror run of form.
The teams meet again in a second Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Scoring sequence - 8 mins: Arendse try 5-0; 10 mins: Pollard conversion 7-0; 22 mins: Pollard pen 10-0; 36 mins: J Barrett pen 10-3; (Half-time 10-3) 51 mins: Pollard pen 13-3; 58 mins: Pollard drop-goal 16-3; 73 mins: Pollard pen 19-3; 78 mins: Frizell try 19-8; 79 mins: Mo’unga conversioo 19-10; 80 mins: le Roux try 24-10; 82 mins: Pollard conversion 26-10.
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Trevor Nyakane, Malcolm Marx, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager; Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese.
All Blacks: Jordie Barrett; Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, David Havili, Caleb Clarke; Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; George Bower, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Angus Tava’ao; Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett; Akira Ioane, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea.
Red card: Arendse (75 mins).
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia).
