Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has thrown his support behind under-fire All Blacks captain Sam Cane, who is facing waves of criticism after their shock loss to Argentina last weekend.
In the aftermath of the historic 25-15 loss, Cane's leadership was questioned by the public, which led to the skipper saying fans can be "brutal" and they might not know as much about rugby as they think.
His comments on Sky Sport's The Breakdown added fuel to the fire with more public criticism, but Rennie - who won two Super Rugby titles with Cane at the Chiefs - believes the current skipper is the right man for the job.
Rennie added that if he was All Blacks coach, Cane would be the captain.
"All I have to say about Sam is that he's a real high-quality man and one of the most impressive men that I've ever coached so I've got an enormous amount of respect for him," says Rennie.
"I feel for him - there's a fair bit of pressure on but he's the right man for the job. He'd certainly have my support if I was involved there."
Rennie's Wallabies face Argentina this weekend and the winner of the match will take the lead in the Rugby Championship standings with two weeks remaining.
Like the rest of the rugby world, Rennie was shocked with the Puma's win.
"I think the whole world thought the All Blacks would win," he says.
"I wasn't surprised by how tight they were, because they've been locked away for a while. Without distractions, they've been training together for a long time.
"I always thought they'd be well-conditioned like we were coming out of Christchurch.
"But what impressed me was that they just kept tackling. Even at times when they looked a bit vulnerable, guys made key tackles.
"I can't speak highly enough of them. It was impressive and a deserved result."
The All Blacks have the week off but are back in action next weekend when they face Argentina on November 28 in their final test of the year.
Join us on November 28 for live updates of the All Blacks v Argentina Tri Nations clash
