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By Gregor Paul in Tokyo
As painful as it was to lose to Australia last year in Brisbane, some good at least came of it with a host of young All Blacks learning the life lesson of never underestimating a desperate Wallabies side.
Whether the All Blacks were complacent, injury-ravaged, or guilty of skipping something in their preparation this time last year at Suncorp, they found out regardless that they can't afford to be anything other than at their best in all Bledisloe Cup encounters.
A year ago Australia, despite having lost the first two Bledisloe Cup tests, were hungrier, sharper, more accurate and more inventive than the All Blacks.
They had a level of desperation New Zealand couldn't match and for those All Blacks who didn't know it then, they soon realised that the Wallabies will always find something extra when they are under the most intense pressure to do so.
In 2016 they were awful in the first two encounters but maybe one bad refereeing call away from having the third under control early in the second half.
The pattern is obvious – Australia don't need the trophy on the line to be desperate for a victory.
Rieko Ioane was one of those young All Blacks to learn the truth about the Wallabies last year.
"Obviously it was a huge learning curve for us," he said. "We thought that after those first couple of games against them that we might have got a bit complacent. But that wasn't the case.
"They regathered themselves and came out swinging harder than we did and they deserved their win. We know we are in a similar situation and have to prepare for them."
The Wallabies celebrate after beating the All Blacks in Brisbane last year. Photo / Photosport
The situation is much the same this year – if not more weighted in favour of the Wallabies being the team with the easier source of urgency to tap into.
The All Blacks were too good for them in the first two tests and since then the pressure has only increased on the Wallabies after they lost to Argentina at home.
Much like last year, the Wallabies are targeting an unexpected victory against the All Blacks as a means of salvaging their season and buying some goodwill from a fan base that is beginning to consider itself long-suffering.
One victory will not a good season make but a win against the All Blacks will, however, go a long way towards to giving it a healthier complexion.
Adding to the Wallabies' danger factor is the way they turned their last game around.
They were 31-7 down at halftime against the Pumas only to mount the most extraordinary comeback to win.
All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett is of the view that the dramatic second 40 minutes in Argentina will have given the Wallabies a depth of belief that has previously been missing and with a few enforced personnel changes due to injury, his expectation is that Australia will be almost an entirely different proposition to the one they were earlier in the season.
"We always get a confident Australia there is no doubt about that. It is probably more that they have realised a bit of belief that may have been missing," said Barrett.
"It was a great comeback [against Argentina] and we have to acknowledge that and we are aware that they can play a good attacking game of footy.
"What we missing was that their defence wasn't good in the first half. It wasn't a surprise to see them comeback like that.
"For the first two Bledisloe Cup games we analsyed them a lot and we saw the way they played and changed in those two games.
"Over the next few days as we are preparing we will probably pick up a few new things. There is potentially going to be a new midfield combination and Israel Folau on the wing those are some of the things we will have to do our homework on."
