The All Blacks have been reminded of how much the team is revered in South Africa, particularly in Cape Town, after thousands of fans showed up to welcome them to the city.It's the first time Dave Rennie has been in the country as All Blacks coach and he said he was blown away by the reception at Cape Town Stadium."It's incredible. I know our players often talked about the support that all the Super Rugby teams used to get here and the All Blacks get here," Rennie said."It's an awesome place to start our campaign in Cape Town and the support is incredible."The All Blacks will look to embrace their surroundings during a tightly scheduled tour, with Rennie keen for his players to experience more than just rugby during their time in South Africa."It's a pretty tight schedule and we've got some times where one group's playing and the other group's training on the same day, but we've got to make sure that we embrace the country and embrace the challenge and you've got to get your head out of the footy at times too, so we'll definitely make sure that we enjoy a bit of downtime."With regular skipper Ardie Savea not joining the side until before the first test, veteran hooker Codie Taylor has been named captain for the first few weeks of the tour, which include three non-test matches, starting this weekend against the Stormers.All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor arrives during the team's "Welcome to Country" event at the Cape Town Stadium.RODGER BOSCHTaylor said he was surprised by how many supporters were at the ground."I was actually, like a lot of our media staff and marketing staff had said, like, you'd be blown away when you come out and that was exactly the way it was. We walked out and there were a few thousand fans screaming and it was a bit of a sea of black in terms of the jerseys and stuff they're wearing," Taylor said."The fans over here are just a whole other level. It's pretty impressive to see and we know we've got a lot of support here."The All Blacks have always enjoyed plenty of support in Cape Town, which is home to South Africa's largest community of coloureds (the South African name given to people of mixed race). A significant portion of that community openly support the All Blacks and visiting New Zealand Super Rugby teams.The history behind that support is rooted in the apartheid years when the Springboks team had only white players.All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan is happy to have the extra backing."Yeah definitely. It was a pretty special couple of hours really when we got into the stadium and did a lot of work with all the kids and the fans," Ryan said."There's a lot of energy in the crowd and a lot of support which has always been the case in Cape Town. I think 5000 [fans] turned up and all the connection was really enjoyable for the boys, to feel that and connect with them."All Blacks fans in Cape Town.BackpagePix/ www.Photosport.nzThe All Blacks first challenge of the tour is against the Stormers this weekend but before cracking into any training, Ryan said getting over their jet lag is the first priority."It's just about getting the body clock right, to be fair. You settle into the hotel and find out where the local coffee shop is, go for a bit of a wander. A few of the boys had a few activities just getting in that vitamin D and getting the sunlight and that sort of thing, and then we just get straight into a little bit of planning."We did a lot as a coaching and management group in Auckland before we come over, so we're on the front foot there and effectively today is our first day where we're all together and we get underway for the Stormers prep."Ryan reiterated the All Blacks desire to play expansive, attacking rugby and said the All Blacks will use the first three non-test matches to try some combinations and experiment with some things on offence."I think it's really important we start with a bit of confidence and we get into our game," Ryan said."We've had 10 new guys involved that have come into the group, a few debutants that have never been into the environment before, so making sure we set them up is really important. Then we want to play some footy, and [Rennie] has been pretty clear that we really want to give a crack in these few games. That's what the tour is about, so we haven't hidden from that."There will no doubt be an element of cat and mouse, however, as the tourists try not to give too much away before the first test against South Africa (23 August NZT) and Ryan said it is a unique challenge preparing a forward pack to take on the Springboks."They're the best in the world. They're a big pack," Ryan said."They know clearly what their identity is around their scrum and their maul, so us having genuine preparation around that is important. It's also an opportunity to think a little bit differently and, I guess, learn from a couple of tough old lessons that we've had in the past against playing the Boks."It is a different contest from what we've had in three tests at home [against France, Italy and Ireland], but really excited by that, and the boys are in a good space."