All Blacks captain Sam Cane has doubled down on the remarks he made about fans after his side's historic loss to Argentina earlier this month.
The knives came out for Cane and coach Ian Foster after the All Blacks' 25-15 defeat, with the skipper saying fans could be "brutal" and "might like to think they know a lot about the game of rugby, but really they don't" in an interview with Sky Sports' The Breakdown.
Cane has fronted for the first time since those remarks and stands by them, although he admits he's "a wee bit" surprised by the backlash.
"I've always spoken my mind and been reasonably honest, I hope most people will appreciate that," says Cane.
"It'd be easier to just do these interviews and play a pretty straight bat with generic answers, but I suppose every now and then being honest may create some headlines.
"I was pretty happy with the whole interview as itself. If the whole interview is viewed, it probably puts it into context."
Cane's initial comments were met with plenty of criticism, although Foster has lept to the defence of his skipper and encouraged him to speak his mind.
"We're hardest on ourselves and we go through that process, so when you keep hearing that, it challenges you mentally," Foster told Newstalk ZB. "He'll learn a bit from that, but he is developing into an outstanding captain.
"Do I agree with what he said? Not really, but when it comes to him expressing himself, I would like to think the New Zealand public know their captain is going to say what he thinks and that's what he does.
"At the end of the day, we know we can't say that and fundamentally he doesn't believe it."
The All Blacks are out to avoid three consecutive defeats for the first time since 1998, when they face the Pumas again on Saturday.
Join us at 9:45pm Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks v Argentina Tri Nations clash
