Foster - Wallabies test will prove our readiness for World Cup

A tougher Wallabies pack, the twin backline threats of Israel Folau and Tevita Kuridrani, a loud Sydney crowd - it's no wonder the All Blacks are viewing Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test as the perfect indicator of their readiness for their World Cup defence.

Add to that the presence of terriers Michael Hooper and David Pocock - both of whom will be looking to put immense pressure on the All Blacks' loose trio - plus the fact Steve Hansen's men can wrap up both the Bledisloe and the Rugby Championship, and it's easy to why there has been an extra edge to the preparations in Auckland this week.

"It has come as a great time, the way it's worked out," assistant coach Ian Foster said this afternoon before the team's flight to Sydney.

"Not only is it a Bledisloe Cup game, it's also the decider for the Rugby Championship - it has added a bit of spice to the game hasn't it, if we needed it. Certainly after the last three tests of introducing a number of new people I think it's nice to put a stake in the ground in this one and see exactly where we are at.

"We know how hard it is to win over there. The Aussies cherish Sydney, they've shown a bit of improvement, they're chasing consistency and this will put a big marker in the ground for them. This is what test rugby is all about. They want it, we want it, and on Saturday night we'll go hammer and tongs to see who is best prepared."

The All Blacks are expecting Hooper and Pocock to both be on the field at some stage, and after being beaten to the punch several times in Johannesburg last weekend, Foster said improvements were needed in terms of the breakdown.

"We know they are there for a reason - they're there to steal our ball so if we're not good at what we do, if we're not accurate in our attack and how we clean out we're in trouble and we got a bit of a lesson in that last week.

"If we get isolated it's generally because of a bad decision or bad execution ... it doesn't matter who we are playing we have to get better in those areas."

Asked if he was happy with where the All Blacks were at with only Saturday's match and the return Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park next weekend to go before their World Cup defence, Foster replied: "We wouldn't mind being a little bit more cohesive than we were last week. We took too long to get desperate in that game. In the first half they took it too us and we weren't clinical enough in what we were doing. We had opportunities we didn't take. Are we where we want to be? Probably not, we'd like to be a bit further ahead, but we've got two tests and two weeks of training to get that right."

In fact, after coming from behind to beat South Africa 27-20 at Ellis Park, the All Blacks are facing a Wallabies team which is becoming similar to the Boks, Foster believes.

"They want to play a lot, they're multi-phased, they like retain the ball and possession is important to them and you have to make a lot of important decisions on defence."