All Blacks: Fear of fatigue keeps side on low simmer

The All Blacks were put through an extra skills session at North Sydney Oval yesterday. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks maintain they have placed a handbrake on some preparations for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test because they overcooked themselves twice in South Africa.

That review did not stop the staff putting the side through an extra session yesterday on their day off as they worked through their skills and techniques at North Sydney Oval.

But assistant coach Wayne Smith accepted the side had not started this week as intently as they had in Africa where they blew out before both internationals with fatal consequences.

"The edge is there but we are not fully on," Smith said yesterday. "It is too early. The last couple of tests we started a little early and there was some mental fatigue later in the week."

The All Blacks arrive for this test after successive losses with all of Wallaby-land reminding them they lost 34-19 in the corresponding test last year.

Captain Richie McCaw was missing from that match and Daniel Carter's efforts were not enough for victory.

Both are back this weekend, Carter for his 60th test after a long recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and McCaw apparently in top nick after some neck troubles in Africa.

The Wallabies have lost their skipper Stirling Mortlock, and some observers believe the centre's knee injury may bring the end of his career closer as coach Robbie Deans searches for a new spark to the backline.

Deans does get blindside flanker Rocky Elsom into action again after a long time in the casualty ward and will be looking for an improved performance from Matt Giteau.

The five-eighths was inconsistent in his last two tests but will be amped to challenge his old rival Carter again in this crunch Bledisloe Cup shoot-out.

"It is a big game for us, there is no hiding from that and in Tri-Nations basically one of us is going to be out," Smith said.

The All Blacks had to get all the little pieces in their plan sorted for this transtasman rivalry.

"The Wallabies gave us a hiding last year. They have got Elsom back and we have managed to win a few battles but the margins are small. It is not psychological, it is the way games go," he said. "It is going to be another tough one."

As ever the sporting inquisitor, Smith said he had been invited to chat with staff at the Sydney Swans AFL club and was keen to take them up on the offer.

Most codes picked up on skills, ideas and management from sporting rivals and Smith thought it would benefit some All Blacks to go into a pre-season camp with a club like the Swans to work on their high ball catching work and kicking.

The All Blacks already use former AFL player Mick Byrne as their kicking coach while they also sent injured halfback Piri Weepu to the Newcastle Knights league side a few years ago to work on his game.

"I think that sort of thing is something we should look at," Smith said.

"You can be recruited by the Swans but don't become a blood until you have reached certain standards and I guess that has got analogies for us where we have a lot of traditions and customs and values associated with the All Blacks and there is some synergy there."

Smith said the All Blacks were looking to develop their game but it still had some way to go before it was effective.

They were working on returning to a game based on movement rather than the kick-chase patterns which have been so prevalent this season. That was a low-risk pattern which suited the Springboks but the All Blacks wanted to find some middle ground which better used their attacking potential.

He was not sure whether this Bledisloe Cup test would be more a spectacle. He hoped the All Blacks would be better than they had been, but knew the Wallabies would improve and said that should produce a much more intriguing test.