Sam Cane: 'To say I am proud is a massive understatement'
SPOTLIGHT: All Blacks captain Sam Cane praised his team’s character after their victory over the Springboks in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Centre David Havili and lock Scott Barrett scored late tries as New Zealand eased the pressure on coach Ian Foster with a superb 35-23 Rugby Championship victory at Ellis Park.
It was New Zealand’s best performance of the year and it ended a three-game losing streak.
“To say I am proud is a massive understatement,” said Cane, who has also been criticised amid reports he would lose the captaincy to lock Sam Whitelock.
“Adversity really challenges your character and this group has got plenty of character. There has never been a question of how much we care or how much we want it.
“It is a massive challenge coming here, one of the toughest places in the world to play, and the group stepped up massively.
“We were a lot better at the breakdowns today, and at the box kicks and contestables we were a lot better.”
#OPINION: Loads of questions for @Springboks. Check out how the Boks rated during their defeat to @AllBlacks #rugby #news #RSAvNZL https://t.co/4qoqWq0iI5
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‘The game was quite fast’
Meanwhile, Springbok flank and skipper Siya Kolisi said his team struggled with the speed of the game.
“We could not pull through today. In the first half the game was quite fast and we could not impose our game plan.
“They played really well. We always knew they only needed a couple of moments to make it count.”
Additional sources: AAP and AFP
#OPINION: The All Blacks we know. Check out the Player Ratings 👇#RugbyChampionship #Springboks #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #AllBlacks #RSAvNZL https://t.co/gEy2bJqmGz
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) August 13, 2022
