Quinn Tupaea on facing early Springboks' onslaught and All Blacks being 'right there'

All Blacks midfielder Quinn Tupaea says the team expected the early Springboks onslaught they received, revealing they trained all week on how to get back momentum.

Right from the first exit the Springboks went into a strong maul, then played their powerful forwards around the corner off Cobus Reinach until the halfback spotted an opportunity for Jesse Kriel to crash over a little bit wider.

The home side were up 7-0 after just two minutes, something that Tupaea says didn’t phase the All Blacks with a lot of belief in their own game.

“It was something we expected. Just had to reset and go again. Obviously, nail the kick off and then get into our set piece. If I remember right, we parked up down there for a little bit after that. So yeah, took some positives from it, I guess,” Tupaea told media post-game.

“We always knew Springboks would get momentum, so we practiced on how to get that back.

“We’ve got a great leader in Ardie and guys around them that help us stay focused. We were pretty positive after that [start].

“They came out pretty strong put us under a lot of pressure, a lot of scoreboard pressure as well.

“We just got too far back tonight, but love the effort to fight back and gives ourselves a chance at the end.

“The scoreboard pressure was, we were [chasing the game], but we felt like we brought a lot of pressure ourselves through our game. Just a few key moments. Like I said, lots to be happy about.

The All Blacks tried a lot of attacking kicks early but with the dry track the Springboks covered most with ease.

Tupaea said trying to find kick space kept the defence honest and worked well to preserve space on the edge which lead to Will Jordan breaking away and setting up Cam Roigard.

“I think early on we gave the ball up a little bit too easily, trying to find some kick space, but then ultimately that softened them up in the end,” he said.

“So you know we found some good edges. They scramble really well.

“Got to nail those little moments. I guess they stacked more moments in us tonight, and we’re poor in some areas, and they made us pay. So a lot of lessons to take.”

Tupaea credited the Springboks kicking game with causing the All Blacks “a lot of problems”.

“They caused a lot of problems there. Obviously, Hooker, big winger, and seeing a lot of their locks at the wall, so that’s something worth tidy up,” he said.

“We’ve been pretty good at it over the last few weeks, but yeah, they exposed a little bit of us there.”

Whilst the All Blacks’ changing room was “sombre”, the belief hasn’t wavered with small adjustments required to reverse the result in the third Test.

“Oh, we’re right there. Got a lot of belief in our game, love the way our coaches have set us up and the squad we have, so still got belief,” Tupaea said.