All Blacks captain Sam Cane has helped his team-mates reverse their dismal form after a 10-26 loss to South Africa in Nelspruit on Saturday, which leaves New Zealand with just one win in their last six games.
The reversal in the Rugby Championship opener follows a home defeat by Ireland last month and has increased the pressure on manager Ian Foster, who is little more than a year away from Rugby World Cup in France.
The All Blacks were comfortably beaten by the South Africans and scored their only try with the hosts outnumbered after Kurt-Lee Arendse was sent off in the 75th minute for a dangerous tackle on Beauden Barrett while the flyhalf was in the air .
“The belief is really strong within the group,” Cane told reporters. “Even with five minutes left when the red card came, there was real faith.
“It’s just something you can feel on the field … the group’s belief in ourselves and what we’re trying to achieve is very high and if you have that and you work hard, it’s a good recipe.
“We just have to keep at it and it will turn. If we didn’t have these things in place I would be quite concerned but the right ingredients are there.”
Calls for Foster’s sacking and sweeping squad changes following the demoralizing defeat have grown, with Cane acknowledging the All Blacks face a tall order when they meet the world champions again on Saturday at Ellis Park.
“It’s one of the great challenges in Test football playing against South Africa here and the hostility of the crowd and the noise,” he said.
“If anything, and on behalf of a lot of guys, you love the ‘back to the wall, us against them’ and stadium situation.”