Heat on All Blacks - just like it was in '08

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw looks dejected during The Rugby Championship. Photo / Getty Images

The last time the All Blacks faced this level of Bledisloe Cup heat was in 2008. They'd fallen 19-34 in their first combat with exiled coach Robbie Deans and the Wallabies in Sydney but responded with a 39-10 victory in the next test at Eden Park.

If you want to make a World Cup connection, in 2011 the All Blacks lost overseas to the Springboks then again to the Wallabies in Brisbane to round out their tournament preparation.

Those twin missiles of Bledisloe heat and World Cup momentum are heading the All Blacks' way again this week at Eden Park, where they have dominated every rival since 1994 and the Wallabies since 1986.

Should we be any more nervous this time, are the All Blacks any more vulnerable than they were in 2008?

Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Daniel Carter, Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Tony Woodcock started that Eden Park test where the All Blacks inflicted retribution for their previous slip-up.

They'd been through a fair sample of test rugby then but now they are all incredibly experienced and the foundation of All Black plans for this year's World Cup. That group has to lead the response this Saturday after the messy work in Sydney.

The Wallabies found more holes in the All Black fabric than most expected while Argentina did the same to the Springboks. Most rugby followers gave those outcomes about a three out of 10 chance.

From a global viewpoint, those results will be a massive fillip for the World Cup.

Some of the hysteria of yesteryear is thankfully gone but the team and the staff will be feeling the flames of national expectation.

There was massive pressure in 2008 because they had been given such a serious run around in Sydney.

They were a fair way off the pace this time, too, when they were surprised in the scrum, out-thought at the breakdown and, apart from the Nehe Milner-Skudder tries, untidy in their backline concepts.

Coach Steve Hansen and company will have had a plan for this final test for some time and whether Sydney alters that, only they will know.

This is a mini-World Cup final, though, a test on all levels for the All Blacks from the selection and coaching approaches to the players' response. The best players have to feel the heat again and be assessed on whether they still have the skill and steel for the fight while the game-plan will also need some tweaking.

Every week is big in All Black footy but this one is at another level.