KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks have made it clear they want to start well this Saturday. Behind closed doors, they have obviously conferred and concluded that, under the new rules, it's easier to keep a team under pressure once you have a lead.
Expect, then, to witness the most intriguing
opening 20 minutes of this year's Tri Nations in Brisbane.
The All Blacks are likely to indulge in the unconventional in those early exchanges.
Confidence, once in horribly short supply, is now flowing through the All Blacks. Graham Henry and his fellow coaches, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, are also quietly fired up, determined to push ahead in their own battle against Robbie Deans.
Wallaby coach Deans outsmarted the All Black panel in Sydney and, while the All Blacks took revenge in Auckland, there is still this sense that Henry and his assistants need to get one up.
Given the way last year ended, the mixed support for the panel's reappointment and the unconvincing form shown in Dunedin and Sydney, 2008 is a year for Henry to prove himself all over again.
This is the game Henry must outfox Deans, show he has lost none of the entrepreneurial edge that has been the hallmark of his coaching career.
We have been led to believe the All Blacks will try to be clever. We will see some set moves that have been kept secret. We will see the All Blacks vary the point of attack, mix their options and no doubt use as decoys individuals the Wallabies will be expecting to see strike.
The All Blacks tried to be smart in the first Bledisloe encounter but they ended up running too much; playing too much rugby inside their own half.
When they did get their nose ahead, they failed to flick the switch and put the pressure on the Wallabies through a controlled, territorial, kicking strategy.
They are unlikely to make that mistake in Brisbane. The All Blacks know they will be playing with a dry ball on a hard and fast track.
The plan will be to storm the first quarter, break the Wallabies with the unorthodoxy of their attack and then slowly revert to a conventional plan where they pin the Wallabies in their own territory.
If the All Blacks can pressure the Wallabies, force them to play rugby in areas they don't want to be playing, then the visitors will look to feed off Australia's mistakes. With Richie McCaw expected to have recovered from his rib injury, the All Blacks will look to pick off turnovers and strike with deadly counter-attacks.
In terms of selection, there are few areas of debate for this test. The front-row is settled, although Greg Somerville will be playing his last test before heading to the UK.
John Afoa, if he's fit, should come on to the bench, where his greater mobility and ball carrying could be a factor in the final quarter of a fast game.
Brad Thorn is expected to resume at lock if his hamstring injury allows and Adam Thomson will drop out for McCaw.
Jimmy Cowan will be given another chance to further his claim as the best halfback in the country and the only areas where the selectors will take their time is deciding on the wings and the bench.
Anthony Tuitavake's broken cheek has ruled him out and he may well have started, given the likelihood of the game in Brisbane being fast and open. Tuitavake is arguably the best open field runner in the squad, with his uncanny ability to beat the first defender.
The issue is whether the selectors return Sitiveni Sivivatu to the left wing and keep Richard Kahui on the right. The latter certainly deserves his place but the former has been erratic this season.
Playing Rudi Wulf on the left wing and Kahui on the right would see the All Blacks lose experience but gain reliability. Sivivatu remains the most ferocious talent but for every piece of magic he'sproduced this season, there has been a dropped ball or missed tackle.
The critical decision on the bench is whether to use Thomson or Sione Lauaki as loose forward cover. Thomson displayed his phenomenal pace in New Plymouth and that could be a real weapon in Brisbane.
Lauaki, though, played well for Waikato last week and can be destructive in the final quarter of a test when opponents are tiring.
