All Blacks head coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane. Photo / Photosport
Sam Cane has spoken out about some of the All Blacks' "brutal" fans following the side's second straight defeat and first loss to Argentina over the weekend.
Speaking on Sky Sport's The Breakdown, Cane talked about various topics including criticism over coach Ian Foster, where the All Blacks went wrongand the difficulties of the side's schedule in 2020.
Cane also touched on the backlash from some fans, who he says might not know as much about rugby as they think.
"We've got some amazing fans but we've also got some pretty brutal ones," he said. "With that you've just got to remind yourself 'hey, they may like to think they know a lot about the game of rugby, in reality they don't really'. They may know the game from what they see in the 80 minutes, but they don't see the stuff that goes on behind the scenes."
The 28-year-old captain also backed Foster, who has come under-fire after the All Blacks' two losses.
Under Foster, the All Blacks have won two of their first five games with defeats to the Wallabies in Brisbane followed by Saturday's 25-15 loss to Argentina in Parramatta.
"I've personally been very impressed with Foz," Cane said.
"He's given us really clear focusses about what we need to get better at, it doesn't feel as if we are bogged down and don't have the answers. A week's a long time in sport, it was only two weeks ago everyone was singing praises.
Sam Cane after the All Blacks' loss to Argentina. Photo / Photosport
He also said he has the backing of the side as skipper.
"To me, if I'm having my leadership questioned, the opinions which matter to me are my team mates' and the coaches, who I work with every single day. I've got a lot of confidence from them that we're on the right track," he added.
On the All Blacks gameplan, Cane said after reviewing the loss to Argentina the side missed opportunities out wide on attack.
"As a team a team when we're trying so hard to get our attack back running particularly us as forwards or anyone of us who carries the ball actually wants to truck it up as hard as they can make the best carry, take the opposition on physically, when sometimes the most obvious option when we pause the video the day after a game and have a look is actually the space was two passes wider.
"But because of that almost tunnel vision, that willingness to take the ball up, we miss a couple of those opportunities. It only has to be a couple of those opportunities…particularly in the first half, can change the whole dynamic of a game," he said.
Without wanting to make excuses, Cane told the Breakdown that the All Blacks schedule and time away from New Zealand has taken its toll.
"We can't underestimate playing five tests in six weeks, they only time we play so many test matches is at a World Cup, and we can't underestimate the toll that takes on some guys being away from home, we've got a lot of young dads, look these aren't excuses, it's the reality really," he added.
The All Blacks have the week off with the Wallabies hosting Argentina in Newcastle on Saturday.
