The Wallabies are expecting a fired-up All Blacks outfit stinging from their winless tour of South Africa to come at them in Sydney on Saturday.
The Australians might be on the same Rugby Championship win-loss record as New Zealand, but fullback Tom Wright doesn’t feel that means they can take their Kiwi foes lightly.
Both teams have suffered three losses from four games with most recently the Australians splitting results in Argentina and the Kiwis losing both Tests against the world champion Springboks.
The Accor Stadium Rugby Championship match doubles as a Bledisloe Cup fixture, with the Wallabies last holders of that silverware way back in 2002, with the final Test in Wellington on September 28.
Wright said he was expecting a response from the All Blacks, who made last year’s World Cup final.
“They just came up against the guys who won the World Cup so I don’t know if weakened is a fair assessment of where they’re at,” said Wright, when asked if New Zealand had lost their aura.
“I still look at them the same way, they’re one of the top two nations in the world.
“Any time you lose, you go back-to-back (losses), as we faced a couple of weeks ago (against South Africa), you certainly have your tail up and you’re keen to rip in.
“They were a whisker away in both games that they lost … we’re expecting them to be up for it for sure.”
Wright was sidelined with an ankle injury for Australia’s second half horror show against the Pumas, which resulted in a record 67-27 scoreline.
He said the Wallabies also wanted to make amends after their capitulation in Sante Fe.
“No-one hurts more than the playing group and the staff … we know that the 40 minutes (second half against the Pumas) was really disappointing and we’re focused on making amends,” said the Brumbies custodian.