His Chiefs team will test the latest applications of the laws in their game against the Highlanders in Queenstown on Saturday afternoon.
Cane described himself as ‘hopeful’ about the changes.
"Referees through World Rugby are looking to make subtle changes, and they go particularly hard at some areas to start with. And, for us as players, it is about being smart in those areas and not pushing the boundaries early.
"Give it three to four weeks to see what the patterns and trends are with the referees and penalties [they award]," he said.
What the Chiefs would be aiming to achieve is succeeding in any of the things they could control. That was around the offside line and making tackles and rolling out as quickly as possible to make it a nice, clean picture for the referee.
"We'll be trying to do that and, again, if we are contesting the breakdown it will be trying to show good pictures, supporting our body weight and pulling up on the balls," he said.
They had been practising those variations throughout the pre-season and honing their craft, and they now had to trust the referees saw the right things.
"There's been things [in the last decade] that have cleared the game up but, continually, every year teams get better and better in those spaces. Cleaners are there so much quicker, so more emphasis gets put on line-speed and trying to force errors through handling errors, rather than contesting at the breakdown," he said.
Turnovers at the breakdown had reduced over the last seven or eight years. That was not due to the application of laws, it was because teams were getting better at retaining their ball, he said.
Cane, who spent much of last season recovering from shoulder surgery, said he felt in a great spot ahead of the season. It had been nice to finish 2021 playing some rugby, although it had only been three games. But it allowed him to start the 2022 season like any other.
His shoulder had been tested under fire, and he had enjoyed one of his better off-seasons preparing for the campaign.
Cane's co-captain Brad Weber said he never thought he would be kicking off a Super Rugby campaign in Queenstown. The situation of the Covid-19 rugby bubble was something the All Blacks were used to, but it was new for the Super level of the game.
"It's more of a shame that we were meant to open our first two games at home at FMG Stadium so it is really disappointing that we can't be there to play in front of our fans. Playing in front of nobody will be odd for most of us," he said.
Weber was looking forward to the contest with the Highlanders and going head-to-head with All Blacks' teammate Aaron Smith.
"I feel like I grew on the international stage last year, so my confidence in my game is the best it has ever been," he said.
He was happy that his speed was always an asset, but he wanted to bring more tactical nous to his game in 2022.