Tri Nations Rugby: Sam Cane reacts to backlash from All Blacks fan comments

All Blacks captain Sam Cane admitted that he was shocked at the backlash he received following comments he made about fans following the team’s loss to Argentina a fortnight ago.

Cane sparked controversy by saying that some fans were “brutal” and “would like to think they know a lot about the game of rugby, but they really don’t” in an interview with Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.

But speaking ahead of the All Blacks’ rematch against the Pumas on Saturday, Cane said that kind of response is a risk from his approach to interviews.

“I’ve always spoken my mind and been reasonably honest, I hope most people appreciate it,” Cane said. “It would be nice to do these interviews and play a fairly straightforward bat, you know, generic answers, but I guess being honest from time to time can make some headlines.

“I was quite happy with the entire interview itself. If you see the entire interview, it will probably put it in context.”

He wasn’t the only member of the All Blacks to address the backlash, with Ian Foster sharing his thoughts with Newstalk ZB’s Martin Devlin last weekend.

Foster said he might have disagreed with the comments, he’s happy his captain shares his thoughts

“When it comes to expressing themselves, I would like to think that the New Zealand public knows that their captain is going to say what he thinks. That’s what he does,” said Foster.

“Do I agree with what he said? Not really, and I know, talking to Sam, he knows it too, that our fans are lovely.”

After back-to-back defeats against Australia and Argentina in their most recent tryouts, Cane has faced some of the criticism from fans and experts as the team’s captain.

However, he said the recent results hadn’t increased the pressure, as it simply came with the job of being an All Black.

“You always feel the pressure. There is pressure to act as an individual, now as captain, you feel the pressure of the team’s performance. But it would be strange if there was no pressure because it has always been that way,” Cane said. .

“My head is in a pretty good place; I am similar to the team, we are very focused on what we can control and trying to get a good performance, blocking out any external noise and worrying about what is important.”

The team has been working hard to address some issues over the last few weeks after their loss to the Pumas, and coach Ian Foster has named a fairly similar team for this weekend’s game with only three changes to the starting XV, all in the package.

Cane said it was a good show of faith on the part of the selectors and gave the players an opportunity that many of them were eager to have.

“Everyone on the team is suffering. Having the opportunity to correct some mistakes and put some pride back in the All Blacks jersey is good for us.

“We were up against one of the most passionate teams in world rugby in its day, so (we need) a little more passion, but also be physical, clinical and smart. That’s All Blacks rugby at its best, so hopefully we can post that. “