After keeping faith with the same starting XV that was defeated in Christchurch, Ian Foster is warning his players he expects to see a response against Argentina in Hamilton on Saturday.
Despite falling to a first defeat to the Pumas on home soil at OrangeTheory Stadium, Foster has named a largely unchanged side for Saturday's second encounter, with the only differences coming on the bench.
Senior players Dane Coles, Brodie Retallick and Beauden Barrett will all hope to impact off the bench, along with loose forward Dalton Papali'i also returning to the 23.
But with no shortage of star quality in reserve, and with eight players sent back to their respective NPC sides, Foster asserts keeping the faith with a largely unchanged squad gives the All Blacks the chance to implement what they've learned from defeat in Christchurch.
"For those that want blood, we haven't given it," said Foster. "We've been pretty ruthless and hard on ourselves behind the scenes.
"We're hurting with where the team's at. But if you play under fear, then you restrict your options, restrict your thinking, and what happens is you don't get the game going the way you want to do it.
"Part of what we're doing now is [asking] what do we believe in? We actually believe in some things we're working on now.
"We believe there's enough evidence that there was some things going really good, [but] it didn't translate to the result we wanted.
"We think the best way to build confidence in those key pressure moments is to put the guys out there that have just been through it, and felt it.
"We've talked about some different solutions, so we're backing that.
"There's always pressure on individuals when they run out in a black jersey. We're expecting a response in that particular area."
But for this week, Foster can take solace from home comforts, as the All Blacks return to Hamilton for the first time this year.
In 2021, Foster's side demolished Fiji 60-13 on their coach's home ground, and will no doubt hope for a repeat as they seek revenge against the Pumas.
And after falling to defeat in Christchurch, a return to Waikato gives Foster the chance to begin to silence his critics with just shy of 26,000 in support.
"She's a tough job to get away from, particularly in a test week," he added. "I haven't wanted to get away from it, but is it good to be home? Yes it is.
"There's nothing like going back and having a night's sleep in your own bed. I've figured out my wife still loves me, which is important to me.
"I'm really proud of being from this region. It's been a big part of my rugby. There's a whole lot of pride in being involved with the All Blacks in this part of the world.
"Personally, I'd love nothing better than to put a performance on the park that shows that."
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