KEY POINTS:
Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock declared himself 100 per cent fit to return in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup rugby rematch in Auckland, where he says the pressure is on the All Blacks' selectors.
Mortlock missed his side's 34-19 win at ANZ Stadium on Saturday due to concussion, but will be named at centre by coach Robbie Deans tomorrow assuming he gets through training without incident.
"I'm raring to go. There's a few things I've got to do, train with the team and do a few more tests to make sure everything's sweet, but I personally feel 100 per cent and that's usually a pretty good indicator," Mortlock said.
Mortlock was a frustrated spectator on Saturday after being ruled out with the after-effects of concussion, suffered the previous week when he was clobbered by Springboks lock Bakkies Botha.
He said he'd await tomorrow's All Blacks team naming with interest, especially whether his long-time opponent Conrad Smith would be restored.
Saturday's midfield combination Ma'a Nonu and Richard Kahui struggled at times amid a rash of All Blacks handling errors and tough Wallabies defence.
"It'll be interesting to see what combination they select in the midfield," Mortlock said.
"I was a little bit surprised (at Smith's omission), just because I have a huge amount of respect for Conrad as a player.
"He's not the sort of centre that stands out immensely but he makes good breaks, provides a lot of insight for their backline and steers them around really well.
"He provides significantly different traits to a lot of guys in that backline."
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was also in the stands on Saturday due to an ankle sprain, and while he was still described as a 50-50 chance yesterday, the Wallabies expect him to play.
Flanker Rocky Elsom, one of the Wallabies' best in Sydney, won't travel to Auckland due to a foot ligament strain but expected a different All Blacks with McCaw.
"You'd think they're going to push it as hard as they can to get him back," Elsom said.
"They're going to want a lot more of that turnover ball that they didn't get last game, it's some of the best attacking ball and they probably see that as an area they can really pick up and will help them win the match.
"The battle at the breakdown will be much bigger because he's there, but also if he's not there it'll probably be their focus."
The Wallabies arrive in Auckland on Thursday, a city they haven't won in since 1986.
While Mortlock was fresh, he said a third tough test match in as many weeks would be the big challenge for his teammates against a pained All Blacks, who haven't lost three tests in a row since 1998.
"For us that was a good step up but we know next week is more significant. They'll be coming out like a bull at a gate, wanting to bash us and bring everything that they had on the weekend, even more so."
- NZPA
