KEY POINTS:
Fresh from back-to-back test losses, and with a crunch rematch against the Wallabies at Eden Park this weekend, the All Blacks began their rugby training session with a game of soccer yesterday.
And the 1500 fans who went to see the team working out at Waitakere City's Trusts Stadium appeared to be keeping the faith, spurring on their team with deafening applause despite some questionable football skills.
Monolithic lock Brad Thorn cut a cumbersome figure with the round ball at his feet, though centre Conrad Smith looked capable of a code switch.
As they moved on to a game of touch rugby, the All Blacks appeared to relax, as it became clear there was no hint of a fan backlash following Saturday's big loss in Sydney.
The stadium's grandstand, packed with schoolchildren, was a rumble of applause, cheers and laughter from the moment the seemingly repaired Richie McCaw led his men on to the field.
Among them was recalled halfback Piri Weepu.
None of the fans the Herald spoke to had lost confidence in the team. Many pointed to the referee's failings in the Bledisloe Cup first test.
Others accepted it as a one-off loss from which the team would recover.
And all picked the All Blacks to level the Bledisloe series at Eden Park.
There was certainly nothing rotten with the All Blacks, Te Atatu Peninsula resident Brian Norman said. They got beaten by a better kicking game in Sydney and wouldn't make the same mistake again.
They would be back winning, come Saturday.
"I'm picking them to win," Mr Norman said, "by 12 to 15."
