All Blacks prepare to go to dark places against Springboks

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.

Foster was saved by a win over the Springboks in Johannesburg, and last week's victory over Argentina showed that the three-times world champions were on the right trajectory as the World Cup in France looms in September and October.

Saturday's match against the reigning world champions will be the acid test, Taylor thought.

"I think this week will be a real tell for us as a team, and especially as a forward pack," the 77-cap rake added. "They've probably got one of the most formidable packs in the world in terms of size and ability and the way they play the game.

"What a challenge at home. We played them twice over there last year, and now we