[ad_1]
All the black people Pattern Sam Cane On Friday he said his team has an additional “advantage” about heading into their decisive clash with Argentina, fueled by the “horrible” feeling of two losses in a row.
New Zealand is in the rare situation of trying to avoid three defeats in a row, a fate it has not suffered since 1998.
On Saturday they stand in their way at Newcastle, north of Sydney, an Argentine team that not only beat them 25-15 at the Tri Nations this month, but followed up with a draw against Australia.
Cane said that suffering two losses in a row, they also lost to the Wallabies, and a backlash from their notoriously demanding fans had left them shaken.
“Everyone on the team is suffering and there is an opportunity to try to correct some mistakes and put some pride in the All Blacks jersey,” he said.
“There is a slightly different mood. The easiest way to explain it is that there is a bit of an edge, almost a bad mood throughout the week.
“Sometimes (in practice) it’s good to have a little fun, but we are very focused and just wanted to make the most of every training session this week to have the best chance to play well.”
Much of the criticism of back-to-back losses has been directed at coach Ian Foster, though Cane has also come under scrutiny for his leadership skills.
He insisted his head had been “in a good place” this week with “tremendous support” from his teammates.
“We are very focused on what we can control and trying to get a good performance and block out any external noise and only worry about what is important,” he said.
“We accept the pressure that we are under as a team, but we use it in a very positive way to push ourselves.”
“In the last two games, the feeling has been horrible and there would be nothing worse than feeling that again leading up to the (Southern Hemisphere) summer, so we are determined to try and put together a performance that we are proud of.”
Foster has reorganized his forwards to better address Argentina’s physicality, bringing in prop Nepo Laulala for Tyrel Lomax, blocking Scott Barrett ahead of Patrick Tuipulotu and forward Akira Ioane in place of Shannon Frizell.
For the rest, the team remains the same as the one that collided with Argentina a fortnight ago.
By contrast, Pumas coach Mario Ledesma replaced 10 of his teammates after two tough games in the same weeks as they prepare to play in honor of the late soccer legend and compatriot Diego Maradona.
Cane said he expected Argentina to bring the same aggression and flair in the rematch, and urged his team to display similar attributes.
“Definitely a little more passion,” he said. “We are facing one of the most passionate teams in world rugby, but we are also physical, clinical and intelligent.”
