All Blacks keen to quell cocky Australians

TOBY ROBSON

Last updated 05:00 01/08/2011

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw talks about the importance of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup match against Australia.

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GETTING DOWN: Digby Ioane celebrates for the Reds after their Super Rugby final victory over the Crusaders.

Revenge is an obvious starting point for the big guns being ushered back into the All Blacks for this Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test in Auckland.
But All Blacks coach Graham Henry says the squad must maintain its focus on game plans, not emotions, as it builds toward the Rugby World Cup.
It is hard to escape the fact that the All Blacks will want to avenge recent defeats against their trans-Tasman foe, including last year's test loss in Hong Kong and the Crusaders' Super Rugby final loss to the Reds.
The fatigued four of hooker Keven Mealamu, prop Owen Franks, lock Brad Thorn and No8 Kieran Read have become the fresh four and are "likely" to start against the Wallabies.
There are already signs of a quiet desire in the All Blacks camp to stamp out Australia's growing confidence and cockiness.
Prop Ben Franks did his best to steer clear of controversy yesterday, but eventually admitted the wild celebrations that followed both matches did not sit comfortably with the understated Kiwis.
"You just need to watch the games and how they like to act and stuff after a win. So you don't really want to let them win," he said with a grin.
The Reds' post-match celebrations included a breakdancing routine from wing Digby Ioane, while All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw is unlikely to have forgotten the shove in the head he received from first five-eighth Quade Cooper last year.
Henry will not stamp out such thoughts, but knows his side's quest is on a larger scale as it continues to add to its repertoire.
"They are a very good side with some outstanding individual players and I think we've got to be on our game," he said. "We have to be bright in what we do, so it's going to be a big week in trying to get the right game plan to play Australia."
The approach would need to be different from the one that brought the All Blacks a 40-7 win in Wellington.
In other words the All Blacks will continue to develop their game, this time moulding it to a side that will keep the ball in hand far more than the Springboks.
First five-eighth Dan Carter said the players were realistic about what they had achieved in Wellington, but were pleased to have successfully trialled new methods, particularly on attack.
The challenge will be to continue the good work with new combinations, though it is becoming obvious most of this Tri-Nations campaign has been carefully planned.
The team to play the Wallabies would be "a strong test side", but Henry said the selectors would continue to manage each player individually and hinted some players who had a heavy load in the first two tests could get a rest.
"There are some guys in the squad who need space, they've played a lot of football. You can't send them all home at the same time, so there will be some who get a chance to recharge."