All Blacks veteran halfback Aaron Smith has come to the defence of under-fire coach Ian Foster, and captain Sam Cane before their tour of South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
The pair have come under much scrutiny following New Zealand's historic series defeat to Ireland, with calls for both to be replaced.
Instead, assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar were relieved of their duties, with Crusaders forwards guru Jason Ryan brought in before their tests against the Springboks.
With the Rugby World Cup less than 14 months away, fans and pundits alike have voiced their concerns over Foster and Cane's positions at the helm.
But Smith has condemned the critics, and is confident his longtime mentor can spark an All Blacks turnaround.
"As a man, I got a lot of love for Fozzie [Foster]. I've been in the team as long as him. He was an assistant and he's helped me a lot in my career," he said.
"You always feel for the men in the room. You know they care, you see a lot of the bad stuff around him and Sam Cane, it's hurtful.
"It's actually quite ridiculous how ruthless it's actually been and I feel for them men.
"We had a good chat as a group. We're backing them and it's up to us in the next two weeks to put a little bit of pride back in the jersey for ourselves, but also for the people that have been under the squeeze the most."
When asked if the criticism of Foster and Cane has gone too far, Smith delivered a short, but assured response.
"I think we can all admit that," he said.
The All Blacks head to South Africa as the No.4 ranked side in the world, and face a daunting prospect of tackling the world champions in their own backyard.
Smith is expecting a bruising two tests against the Springboks, but is confident the All Blacks can rectify their mistakes from their defeats to Ireland.
"There's nothing better than the challenge of playing South Africa in South Africa, we know what's coming, and it's up to us as players to own our part of it and get our own stuff right," he said.
"The noise is the noise. The pressure of wearing the black jersey, or coaching it, is big. We know that, and it's every time.
We've had a couple of results not go our way, but it wasn't for lack of effort as a group. The two days in Wellington were positive steps towards what we're going to put out in South Africa."
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