Rugby: No such thing as a dead rubber against the old enemy, says Kieran Read

All Blacks captain Kieran Read. Photo / Photosport

The Bledisloe Cup may be safely in New Zealand's care for another year but for Kieran Read the idea there is nothing at stake tomorrow night in Brisbane is kind of laughable.

The All Blacks captain is not buying the idea of this test being a dead rubber and says motivation is typically high - driven by intrinsic pride and a desire to put together a performance that says what his All Blacks side are all about.

It is New Zealand versus Australia and that's enough to ensure minds are focused and attitudes are right.

"We know it is going to be a really tough game," said Read. "They are a lot more polished than when they started the year. They have got talent. There is no doubt about that. And they can certainly put it together as a full team at the moment. They are really hungry I guess their motivation is high.

"The combinations are smoother and you are used to each other," he said in relation to what he thought consistency of selection had brought the Wallabies this year.

"It tends to correlate to better performances and we have seen that. They are looking good but we have to focus on ourselves."

Read felt the team had enjoyed a relaxed but effective build up and that there was no confusion in anyone's mind about performance expectations at Suncorp.

"We want to dominate," he said. "Test matches are funny things. They are hard fought and there is a lot that goes into winning a test especially the Bledisloe Cup...the old enemy...Australia. It's a massive game for us and for them. Getting a win over us is huge and the respect we show for them is that we want to go out and put on a performance that is as high as it can be.

"Every team we play we want to go out there and play well. We respect them enough as a team in that we want to go out there and perform to the highest of our ability."

Read said the late withdrawal of Matt Todd, who tweaked his groin at training yesterday, is unlikely to have any impact on the All Blacks.

Ardie Savea has taken Todd's place on the bench and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is confident that the Hurricanes flanker, having initially missed selection, will be fairly determined to prove a point.

"It's a two-week injury for Matty," said Hansen. "He changed direction and he felt it so we took him out. He's not 100 per cent so we made that decision early. He'll be on the plane...there you go...that's the first of 37. "[Savea's] had the disappointment of not being named so I am sure he will want to come out and prove a point. He'll be a little bit angry. We were looking to give him a bit of a breather but that is not possible now.

"He's got a skill-set that can be challenging when he's got ball in and we just want him to be stronger over the ball and he'll look to do that I think."