AUCKLAND - All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has demanded an across-the-board improvement in Saturday's Rugby Championship encounter with the Wallabies after facing fierce criticism for failing to win last weekend.
New Zealand All Blacks players react after drawing with the Australian Wallabies in their rugby union Test match in Sydney, on August 16, 2014
Australia have their tails up after dominating the first Test in Sydney and despite having to settle for a 12-12 draw they claimed a moral victory by ending New Zealand's 17-match winning streak.
Now they are chasing fresh targets in shutting down the All Blacks 32 consecutive wins at their Eden Park fortress in Auckland and regaining the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rivalry, which they have not held since 2002.
The All Blacks have often been accused of choking after regularly dominating world rugby only to fall apart at crucial times -- with the 1987 and 2011 World Cups notable exceptions.
It was a reputation that came back to haunt them last weekend when the Wallabies snapped New Zealand's chance to become the first top-tier side to win 18 consecutive Tests.
Although referee Jaco Peyper has apologised to the All Blacks for getting several calls wrong in the match, the New Zealanders admitted they had a woeful night on the park.
It was a performance that drew strong criticism from their own fan base and Hansen said their focus now was to turn that around.
"There's plenty of criticism that was warranted last week -- we didn't play well enough," he said.
"We have to be honest about that and if we want to retain the Bledisloe Cup we have to go up about 10 to 12 notches and get into it. The criticism is fair, it's not just the punch in the backline, it's right across the park."
- 'Back to basics' -
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has named an unchanged line-up for Saturday saying the gap between the trans-Tasman rivals is narrowing as Australia chase their first victory at Eden Park in 28 years.
"Sporting records are there to be broken and we'll look forward to the opportunity of playing the All Blacks in their own backyard on Saturday night," he said.
McKenzie is expecting a "back to basics" approach from the All Blacks which will lift the physicality of the Test.
"We know from the first minute of the game they're going to come hard and they'll do that through the forwards," he said, noting that French referee Romain Poite was likely to be swayed by the side going forward.
The All Blacks have made three changes with Liam Messam and Ryan Crotty coming in for the injured Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu while Conrad Smith returns at outside centre after missing last week to be at the birth of his son.
Hansen said the All Blacks needed to improve "just about everything" from last week.
"Our skills and our game structures were basically non-existent to where we would expect them to be. They're two key areas," he said, while taking a dig at whether the Wallabies improve after failing to seal a game they should have won last week.
"I know we can, but I don't know how much they've got left to lift," Hansen said.
"We've just got to concentrate on us, get us right, then we take the other factors out. If we play well enough we get to control the game, and if we control the game we give ourselves a chance of winning it."