All Blacks: Spying, poor ground 'occupational hazard'

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

Sporting espionage and claims of a dodgy ground bypassed All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen as he turned rugby philosopher yesterday in Melbourne.

Hansen gave some cursory comments about the team's disappointment that pictures had been snapped and published of coach Graham Henry holding diagrams of his side's apparent tactics.

It was an occupational hazard, he said, and not the first time the All Blacks had to deal with those sorts of unwanted intrusions. It was the same, he suggested, for reports about the unsuitable surface at Etihad Stadium, the venue for Saturday's first of four Bledisloe Cup tests this season.

The All Blacks would visit the arena today to make their own assessments about the ground and the sprigs they would wear.

Rugby was a different beast from AFL, and Hansen's main concern, as forwards coach, was the ability of the ground to stand up to rigorous scrummaging.

He was concentrating on having the All Black pack primed for Saturday and in the zone to make it eight straight against Robbie Deans' men.

That winning succession was a bit of a "double-edged sword", but the All Blacks had to embrace their run and work even harder to maintain it.

"Our challenge is we have had two good test matches and we have got to make sure that we're comfortable with being uncomfortable and take ourselves to the dark places as well. It sounds a bit gobbledegook, but I think pressure does that to you.

"There are two types of pressure, either external or internal, and at the moment Australia probably have a lot of external pressure on them," Hansen said.

That heat was coming from the media, ARU officials and rugby fans, while the All Blacks had beaten the Springboks well, twice, which had ramped up the pressure they put on themselves for repeat performances.

"We have to make sure our expectations are extremely high and scrutiny is really strong so we get the right consequences of performance."

The All Blacks and their staff were amped about the challenge coming from the Wallabies and their conductor, Robbie Deans.

It would be another fascinating chapter in transtasman rugby duels. There was no animosity towards Deans, he had taken on a job and was doing his best to get more from his side.

"When he came over here everyone made it a Robbie Deans-Graham Henry thing, but I don't think that's what it is about," said Hansen.

"I think it is about two great rugby nations who play each other and have a fierce competition and intense rivalry."

The All Blacks were rapt they had won seven straight against the Wallabies. But Hansen noted they had often been adrift at halftime before overcoming the deficits.

He was not about to divulge any theories for those recoveries and wanted the All Blacks to start much stronger on Saturday.

They had to work to their standards and demands while the Wallabies were facing the obvious sort of public heat generated by newspaper headlines and television clips.

"We have to find our own internal sources [of motivation], and that comes from expectation.

"The expectation is you go out and play well and perform as best you can and don't drop your standards. You don't do that by just turning up on Saturday. You have to do it right through the week."

There would be subtle changes this Saturday, but both sides were likely to persevere with attacking intent.