All Blacks have 'clarity' dealing with Bok kicking, suggest some of it was illegal though

The All Blacks believe they have "clarity" on the Springboks' vaunted kicking game ahead of Saturday's Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park.

South Africa's enduringly controversial yet highly successful tactic - criticised in some quarters for damaging the attractiveness of watching the game - received new attention in the aftermath of last weekend's 26-10 win in Nelspruit, primarily because of Kurt-Lee Arendse's red card for taking out Beauden Barrett in the air.

The diminutive winger copped a four-week ban for the clumsy effort.

All Black halfback Aaron Smith notably thought the Boks' tactic was "borderline", while head coach Ian Foster was left "frustrated" by them "chucking bodies in the air".

However, Foster acknowledged on Thursday that his side first and foremost addressed their own shortcomings in dealing with the high ball - Arendse scored his first Test try from a botched New Zealand grab in the first half - before consulting World Rugby on some incidents.

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"We're always looking to iron out our problem areas first," he said.

"And so we looked at how we catch and that's been a big focus this week. We have people who are very good at that and we just have to keep backing that confidence and skillset."

While there has been introspection in that regard, Foster also intimated that there had been some spirited debate between his coaching staff and World Rugby's refereeing gurus over the Boks' perceived questionable methods chasing their own hoists.

"We've gone back and forth a number of times about people running fast and jumping and hitting you before the ball's even come down," he said.

"We've got some pretty good clarity on that, that