Five straight wins have the Wallabies' confidence sky high, but a drought-breaking victory over the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday night would confirm the Robbie Deans era has truly arrived - and the Kiwi coach knows it.

Deans orchestrated a first-up win over his homeland last Saturday in Sydney but faces the real acid test in his homecoming game when Australia will seek to defy history and put themselves in the box seat for the Tri-Nations title and Bledisloe Cup.

Asked on Friday if a win would be sweeter on New Zealand soil, Deans said: "It will just be good to see this group thrive.

"We've worked hard at it ... we've made some great strides, it would be good to get that confirmation that we have made progress tomorrow night.

"But if we're sitting here tomorrow night having come second, then you'll probably suggest that we've made no progress whatsoever.

"That's the way it is."

Deans' Wallabies face one of the most daunting tasks in world rugby, with Australia not having tasted victory in Auckland since 1986.

Their recent away record is even more cause for concern - they haven't beaten either of their Tri-Nations opponents away from home in 14 attempts.

But they sit on top of the Tri-Nations table following wins over South Africa in Perth then the All Blacks, with their two rivals only able to boast a single win each from their three outings.

The All Blacks are staring down the barrel of three straight losses for the first time since 1998.

Deans said a result at the Eden Park cauldron would have major significance for his resurgent side.

"It would be fantastic, obviously," he said.

"The sheer weight of numbers, 1986, it's an indicator of what it takes and obviously what we've brought in the past hasn't been enough, and we're conscious of that but really keen about that as well.

"These guys love that sort of challenge."

Both coaches appeared to feeling the pinch on Friday, with New Zealand's Graham Henry admitting he was feeling "stress" and Deans advising journalists keen to ask about his rival's woes to stick to questions about the Wallabies.

The former Crusaders boss's homecoming will include him coaching for the first time against his captain at the Super 14 side, Richie McCaw, with the champion flanker joining Australian skipper Stirling Mortlock in returning from injury for the match.

"You hate missing any games but certainly I was really buoyed by the way the team played (last week)," Mortlock said.

The skipper said he had no idea why Australia had failed to win in Auckland for 22 years.

"In sport, you tend to find that those sort of hoodoos or (a) string of matches either won or lost, but they always get broken eventually," he said.

The All Blacks are expected to overhaul their tactics after claiming they were outmanoeuvred by the Wallabies' superior adjustment to rugby's experimental laws.

"I suspect this weekend could be (a grind). It could be ugly but it will be intense and there will be drama," Deans said.

But the coach said fatigue after two bruising Tests in the past two weeks would not be an issue.

"We monitor and manage our weeks according to our state and I think these guys are probably in better shape now for this challenge than they would have been in week one or week two," he said.

"These guys will be up for this. They've got a challenge, it's very clear how significant that challenge is. It's obvious for all to see but they're excited.

"They're standing at the foot of the hill and they're ready to climb. They're just waiting for the whistle."

The Wallabies received an extra motivational boost with former Test fullback Julian Huxley, who is fighting a brain tumour, handing out the side's match jerseys on Friday.

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