All Blacks: Midfield backs worry Wallabies

The Wallabies' backs are making plenty of noise about the silent assassins in the All Blacks midfield who will need to make it third time lucky in tonight's test.

Isaia Toeava and Ma'a Nonu are reunited at centre and second five-eighths, a combination that failed to ignite in their two other outings this season - the opening loss to France and error-fest against Italy.

It was no surprise when the fumbling Toeava was dropped after the Italy shambles but his dynamic 30 minutes off the reserve bench in last Saturday's three-point loss to South Africa were enough to suggest the 23-year-old can yet produce his domestic fireworks at test level.

"I just set myself some goals before I went on. I achieved some of them but there's still a lot of work to do," Toeava said.

"I was pretty pleased with my performance. It has given me confidence but I've still got things to work on in my game."

The quietly-spoken Toeava - even more retiring in the face of microphones than Nonu - wasn't keen to put the first 25 tests of his career under the microscope. The occasional brilliant performance has been mixed with some forgettable outings in a variety of roles since his shock elevation in 2005.

The attacking instinct and speed both he and Nonu produced in the Super 14 hasn't yet been replicated in black this year.

However, Australian opposites Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper were both wary in the extreme of what the pair could concoct.

"What I know of Toeava, he absolutely cut us up this year at Canberra Stadium when the Blues played the Brumbies," centre Ashley-Cooper said.

"He's a strong attacker and very deceiving. Great feet and great with the ball in hand. So I guess opposing him in defence I'll really have to work with the guys inside and outside me so he doesn't make me look stupid."

Ashley-Cooper said backline defence remained a work in progress for the Wallabies, with miscommunication having leaked several Springboks breaks in recent tests.

Barnes, a skilful kicker and passer, said marking the powerful Nonu was one of the more challenging assignments in his chosen career.

"You know if you don't get on top of him early you're going to have a long night," Barnes said.

"It all depends on the ball he gets too. If their forwards are going forward and he's on the front foot, he's one hell of a tough guy to stop. I give away almost 20kg to the guy and you've got to get up in his face."

- NZPA