Sam Cane confident New Zealand will bounce back from series defeat against Ireland

New Zealand skipper Sam Cane is confident that his team will bounce back in the upcoming Rugby Championship after a series defeat at home recently against Ireland.

After winning the first Test in Auckland, the All Blacks suffered back to back defeats in Dunedin and Wellington as they lost the series against Ireland with a 1-2 margin.

The defeats also meant New Zealand slipped to the fourth place in the World Rugby Rankings.

Following the series loss, the New Zealand board sacked forwards coach John Plumtree and backs coach Brad Mooar. Nevertheless, Cane is confident that will be in good stead as they face World Champions in back to back Tests on 6th and 13th August.

"It may seem like there's a lot to fix from the outside but in camp we have some clear focuses and often when you get those big things right a lot of the smaller things that may seem like issues sort themselves out," said Cane.

"It’s important that we don’t focus on all these things going wrong because the truth is there aren't a whole lot. With top teams it is small margins in games.

"In the last test we lost by 10 points but we let them score two rolling maul tries, which for an All Black pack is something we don’t see as acceptable. Fix that and it is one big thing we have sorted out."

The last time New Zealand played in South Africa was during the 2018 Rugby Championship clash against Pretoria where they went on to win 32-30. Since then the next four encounters had two games finishing with a two-point margin while one ending in a draw.

"It’s been a long time since we have been here. It is one of the things you took for granted when we were doing it twice a year. There are a few boys who are in South Africa for the first time," Cane added.

"They (the Boks) have an incredible amount of depth in their squad. We know what to expect, a confrontational, physical battle.

"Big men coming around the corner, cleaning hard, and then the skill in the midfield and the backs. It's up there with the best in the world. They are the full package."