SAM CANE HAS admitted he and Peter O’Mahony engaged in ‘banter’ during the second Test of this New Zealand tour.
It is unclear precisely what they said to one another as the words were not audible in TV coverage.
“It’s just good rugby banter, all part of the game,” said Cane. “I don’t mind it. Good stuff.”
When he was asked what had been said, a press officer from New Zealand rugby intervened.
Both the captain and his coach, Ian Foster, have been the recipients of severe criticism in the aftermath of Saturday’s defeat.
“The situation is not what we wanted,” said Cane. “It’s a good challenge for us. It’s do or die, it’s just like World Cup stuff.
“The drive is massive. We were hugely disappointed with what we dished out on Saturday. We need to be so much better. We have pride in the jersey, we’re not happy with what we put out and we’ll be working hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“It’s about channelling our emotions the right way. We’re angry, disappointed in ourselves, but there’s no point dwelling on that performance. We have to pick ourselves up and shift the mindset, highlighting the things we need to get better at.”
Cane compared this situation to the 2017 Lions tour – where the All Blacks won the opening test before losing the second.
“There are similarities … the second test red card, all on the line, and it’s a great position to be in. It’s really going to test us, and we’ll see what we’re made of.
“We had 27 unforced errors last Saturday, and that’s just ridiculous. Our discipline also let us down massively. A lot can change in rugby in seven days, and we have to fix that up. But the belief is strong, the group is tight, and we’re together.”
Meanwhile Ardie Savea has backed Foster after seeing the extent of the criticism his coach has had to endure.
“I try to stay away from that sort of stuff but it does hurt because we’re a family here but with everything that happened, we’ve got each others’ backs. People perceive what they see but they don’t know what goes on inside.
“I back my coach, I back my skip and back my players 100%. Side by side.”
- Orginally published at 6:22