The All Blacks face their first big test of the World Cup year when they take on South Africa at the weekend and hooker Cody Taylor said they were going to some "dark places" as they prepare to take on the Springbok forwards.
New Zealand opened the Rugby Championship with a 41-12 thrashing of a weakened Argentina side last week but are well aware that an almost full-strength South Africa will be an altogether different proposition. "Right across the board they play bloody good footy, and they're big men.
There's no better challenge as an All Black to go against the South African forward pack," Taylor told Stuff media ahead of Saturday's match in Auckland. "Mentally you've got to get yourself into a pretty dark place to be ready for what's coming.
At the same time, we've made good progress in our forward pack over the last 18 months and we're going to fire a few shots, too."That progress was viewed as necessary for their World Cup ambitions after a 2022 season in which the All Blacks lost a home series to Ireland and a home test to Argentina, almost costing coach Ian Foster his job.