Right to go after past wrongs

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw says the lessons of past World Cup failures have been learned. Now all that is left to do is to prove it.

Starting with Tonga at Eden Park tonight, the All Blacks have the opportunity to right the under-achievements of 20 years and deliver the William Webb Ellis Trophy to an expectant nation.

The All Blacks will be relieved the time for talk is almost over - but the pressure on them will only increase as they progress through the tournament.

McCaw, speaking after the team captain's run at Eden Park yesterday that the players had taken on board the lessons of their shock quarter-final exit against France in Cardiff of four years ago.

"You'd be a mug if you hadn't learned in the four years since then," he said.

Lessons won't count for much if the All Blacks slip up again but, rather than treat the expectation as a burden, McCaw's men are determined to enjoy the occasion and opportunity to play on their sport's biggest stage.

"We're excited about playing," McCaw said.

"I think it will be a step up - we'll have to - and I think the guys are in a good frame of mind for that.

"We're keen to get a good performance under our belt against a Tongan team that will come out with plenty of passion and will get stuck in so we've got to meet that. A couple of weeks ago we had a loss to we've got to make sure we right the wrongs.

"Since that last outing against Australia in Brisbane we've had a good look at ourselves, as we would have done if we'd won it, and hopefully we've got the ingredients to perform tomorrow night."

The All Blacks, while disappointed with that loss and especially their poor first-half performance, will be comfortable with where they are at. The defeat came after travelling from South Africa, and the Wallabies showed the benefits of a good, settled preparation - just as the All Blacks had in their big win over Australia at Eden Park earlier in the Tri Nations.

Assistant coach Wayne Smith said Tonga's record at the 2007 World Cup had been the subject of much discussion by the All Blacks. In their pool matches the Pacific Islanders lost narrowly to eventual champions South Africa 30-25 and were beaten 36-20 by England. Their victories came over Samoa and the USA.

"There is no complacency in this group," he said.

"We're very aware of what they pose, they've got the biggest runners up front in world rugby.

"The physicality will be good. You don't want a soft pool - and we haven't got one. They will test us with their physicality and their athleticism.

"They're all good rugby players so I think it's a positive. You know, we don't lack physicality ourselves so it should be a cracking match."

Brad Thorn said his advice to younger teammates on the eve of the biggest tournament of their careers would be: "Don't be reading too many newspapers or the internet.

"This is a pretty special tournament.

"You can go into a competition and see it as a burden or you can go, 'far out, what a great opportunity this is for us'."

And Smith said the experiences of past campaigns would serve the All Blacks well.

He said: "We've got a great group of men who have handled a fair bit of adversity since that last tournament and who have fronted and come through and put a really good record together."