"We are desperate to improve" - Sam Cane

New Zealand captain Sam Cane says he and his players have been "brutally honest" with each other amid the All Blacks' woeful run of form.

The All Blacks have lost their last three test matches in a row falling twice to Ireland in July and slumped to their worst defeat to South Africa in the professional era in their Rugby Championship opener.

The 26-10 loss against South Africa saw New Zealand fall to their lowest-ever world ranking of fifth and captain Cane says there has been a fair bit of soul searching this week.

He insists that they know where they can hurt the world champions.

“We had a good look at opportunities missed and where we can get better,” Cane told reporters on Tuesday.

“We have been brutally honest with each other and it’s never personal, it’s about learning off an individual’s error so the team can get better as well.

“We all know as a group that you can’t just focus on the outcome [result], it is always the process and small steps that go into it that which gives you the outcome you are after.

“The whole role of the leadership group is massively important, I’m really stoked with the way we have been operating off the pitch. We’ll keep working hard. Even though we are not happy with the results ... it’s not through a lack of effort.”

"It’s a hostile environment but we quite like playing in places like this because it tests you,” Cane added.

“We are a bit higher [in altitude than last weekend] and the air is a bit thinner, so it is a massive challenge.

“They [the Boks] know their game really well and they execute it extremely well. There were 15-odd contestable kicks and we only took five of them. They gave us a great test at the breakdown.

“We expect them to roll out the same stuff, but we have seen some things on the tape where we can be better. We are desperate to improve.”