Unsettling week for All Blacks

A propensity to nod off for 20 minutes, and Australian opponents with more ticker than anyone will give them credit for, has made the All Blacks' test rugby buildup here this week a challenging one.

If the injury-riddled Wallabies can upset New Zealand's last home test of the year at Eden Park tonight it will hand South Africa the Tri-Nations title and end a 15-match All Blacks' winning streak on home soil.

It will also make the two months before their next test, against Wales in Cardiff, seem a world away for the coaches following a season in which the Lions were tamed and a sixth Tri-Nations was there for the taking.

History and form point to a New Zealand win but assistant coach Wayne Smith has been frustrated at how easily their opponents have been written off.

"I wouldn't say we're confident. We're determined, we've put ourselves in a position where we can win a competition if we win this game but if anyone goes onto the field thinking that the Aussies aren't at their best then we're going to be in trouble," Smith said.

"Sport's littered with people who are expected to win going out and losing. You just have to look at (beaten American tennis player) Andy Roddick the other night at the US Open, just time and again it happens."

Veteran winger Doug Howlett used another sporting analogy -- Australia's refusal to lie down in the Ashes cricket series against England -- as a pointer to the fighting sporting psyche of that country.

Graham Henry said his players needed only imagine how they would respond if they had undergone the same injury crisis as the Wallabies and had their chances so comprehensively written off.

"I think we'd play with a huge amount of spirit, we'd take the game to the opposition, we'd have nothing to lose," Henry said.

For Henry, the week has been a fine balance between resting fatigued bodies and addressing some of the problems that have crept into their game in the Tri-Nations.

One was the flat patches that tended to last about a quarter of a game. They conceded early 0-13 leads to both the Springboks and Wallabies in their two away matches and let South Africa back into to last week's 31-27 defeat of South Africa in Dunedin.

"We weren't particularly happy with the 25 minutes after halftime and we gave them some soft tries," Henry said.

"But generally speaking, I thought the first 40 minutes was the best we'd played this year."

Australian coach Eddie Jones thought the All Blacks looked vulnerable at times in Dunedin but the clinical nature of their match-winning try to hooker Keven Mealamu was impressive.

"These test matches come down to 6-7 minutes when you've got an opportunity to put the opposition away," Jones said.

"New Zealand did that expertly and showed a lot of composure to win that game, which is the sign of a good football side."

The Wallabies have lost four straight tests but they had their chances to win all three against South Africa while they couldn't capitalise on a bright start against the All Blacks at Sydney.

Australian captain George Gregan, who plays a world record-equalling 114th test tonight, said the losses had knocked the confidence of his side. But that was countered by the enthusiasm injected by several new players in the squad and the realisation that they weren't far off reversing their fortunes.

"They're small areas to fix and if we get them right, there will be a change in the result," Gregan said.

The much-scrutinised Gregan will need to prove his detractors wrong and combine well with fullback-turned-first five-eighth Mat Rogers if the Wallabies are to prevail.

Rogers would bring an extra dimension, said All Blacks captain Umaga, whose team have had little footage from which to mount a defensive plan for the former international rugby league winger.

"Mat Rogers, will he run the ball or will he kick it?" Umaga asked.

"When you're out there that's what you've got to think to yourself as well. That's the mark of a good player.

"They just have that x-factor in their players. (Winger) Lote Tuqiri and (fullback) Drew Mitchell's come on board now. We enjoy playing them because we like to think we play the same way. We try to use the ball a lot and express ourselves."

Umaga had noted and appreciated the pubic fascination with the new All Blacks' haka introduced last Saturday.

"It's been to the forefront of people's minds really. We expected that and we're very glad that it's all been positive," Umaga said.

"It is a great thing that we've started but that's only one part of what we're about. Let's not get away from the fact that we had a good performance last week, we need another good performance this week."

- NZPA