When it comes to the ubiquitous sporting subject of performing under pressure, veteran All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock could probably deliver his own TED talk.
The 134-test stalwart is well versed in coping with the public spotlight the All Blacks perpetually exist beneath, which - after their recent home test series defeat to Ireland - has its dial turned up to 11.
Now in South Africa and preparing to face a Springboks team rubbing their hands at the prospect of piling
more misery on the tourists, their win-starved fans back home and head coach Ian Foster, Whitelock has offered some simple words of wisdom for his side on how to make the insurmountable seem surmountable, as they prepare for their first shot at redemption at Nelspruit on Sunday (NZ time).
The 33-year-old recalls his first major test assignment, which came during a period when the pressure on the All Blacks arguably reached its zenith - the 2011 World Cup on home soil.
"I was lucky when I first came into the team that we were going into a World Cup at home," Whitelock said. "We hadn't won it for 24 years and there was a lot of external pressure.
"The best advice I got given from senior players was 'look, don't read into media, don't worry about all those things, just control what you can control'.
"That's the main thing I've been trying to tell the boys and think about myself - controlling how you're training, how you're playing, how you're preparing.
"That's the best thing I was given advice and it's still true now, as one of the older boys."
That said, Whitelock is seasoned enough to realise the only surefire way to alleviate that weight of expectation is through winning test matches.
But when you're in desperate need of victories, there probably isn't a less desirable destination than the republic, particularly when trying to rebuild a forward pack that - as new assistant coach Jason Ryan observed - was "dented" by the Irish.
The All Blacks conceded two rolling-maul tries in the third test defeat against Ireland at Wellington.
"We do know there are areas we need to get better at," Whitelock noted. "Obviously, conceding a couple of maul tries is an obvious one for myself as a tight forward - that's a key area I'm focusing on."
Whitelock says Ryan had come into the camp and "been himself", but insisted the onus for the All Blacks' recent slump - and their hopes of breaking out of it - still rested with the players themselves.
"The main thing is that it actually falls on us as players," Whitelock said. "We have to perform.
"It doesn't matter who is coaching us, it comes down to us performing on the field and we have to perform for 80-plus minutes, not just for periods of the game.
"The pressure cooker is still on. When I say that, for us as players and as a team, we're trying to put pressure on ourselves."
For as formidable a foe as their world champion hosts are, they've hardly been in vintage form themselves, squeaking past Wales 2-1 in their three-test series last month.
Despite recent results, the All Blacks camp - currently based near Kruger National Park - hasn't lacked confidence and is benefitting from being reunited in an environment far from home, Whitelock claims.
"It is good for us at the moment, as a team, to be over here together," he said. "We've got time to work on what we need to work on."
