South Africa's natural beauty perhaps belies the brutality the All Blacks are about to encounter at Johannesburg's Ellis Park - the Springboks fortress, the very mecca of South African rugby.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster hopes he won’t be waving goodbye to the All Blacks top job at this venue.
Newshub: "Ian, how have you personally handled the pressure and the noise this week?"
Foster: "I think I've already answered that. You asked me about the team and I'm part of the team, we're just focussed on this week."
Newshub: "But from a personal perspective?"
Foster: "I just answered that... I'm part of the team and that's our team mindset."
That team's backs remain firmly against the wall and they must find a way to dig themselves out of their current slump.
"Through a bit of adversity, you get your character tested, but the key is, when things don’t go your way, don't sit there and sulk."
To avoid tears this weekend, Foster has largely stuck to his guns, with four changes from the team that lost at Mbombela.
Those selections make good on his claim the side are making good progress, despite losing five of their last six tests.
"There's no good us lingering on the past," said Foster. "We know we've got some development as a team we're currently going through, I guess the growth is always hurting."
Foster likely needs the most dominant of victories at Ellis Park on Saturday to keep his job as All Blacks coach.
His plight hasn't been helped by a team unable to find a way into the contest of late, but despite the mounting criticism, the team is trying to stay optimistic.
"There's plenty of noise out there," said All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor. "The obvious has happened, this team is making steps each week and I think there were some great steps made last week."
Said Foster: "We've just got to make sure our mindset is improve, improve, improve."
If they can't, the sun looks likely to go down on Foster's decade-long reign with the All Blacks.
