Ravaged by injury, condemned by critics and staring a dreaded piece of history in the face, the beleaguered Wallabies have resorted to brainwashing themselves into believing they can beat the All Blacks.

Defeat in Christchurch on Saturday night would extend Australia's sorry losing streak to a record nine matches against their trans-Tasman rivals and hand the All Blacks Bledisloe Cup bragging rights for an eighth straight year.

Not one single player in the Wallabies line-up can boast of toppling the All Blacks on New Zealand soil.

Only five Wallabies in the starting side - Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Giteau, Rocky Elsom, Nathan Sharpe and Benn Robinson - have ever beaten the All Blacks anywhere.

And after last week's 21-point pummelling in Melbourne, it is hard to find any evidence whatsoever that the misery will end this weekend.

Except from the mouths of the Wallabies, who defiantly continue to talk the talk.

"There's a lot of statistics around but what's most important to us is that we have a game to play and whoever is most willing on Saturday night will probably win that match," Elsom said after his Captain's Run at AMI Stadium on Friday.

"So that's something we can focus on and that's what the guys are excited about. We believe we are ready.

"We've been pretty clear and concise with what we want to do this week and I feel like we're in a pretty good head space going into the match."

The confidence comes from the top, master motivator and eternal optimist Robbie Deans filling his charges with hope since virtually the minute they shuffled, heads bowed, into their Etihad Stadium dressing room after last Saturday night's debacle.

"It's surprising how good the mood is, and I think a lot of that has got to do with Robbie and his positivity," Ashley-Cooper said.

"It's a shame to lose eight in a row because we know that the margin between us is so minimal, but we know we were off our game last week and we're lucky to have another opportunity."

The Wallabies will once again be without suspended gamebreaker Quade Cooper, along with several other influential performers like Wycliff Palu and Ben Alexander, but Ashley-Cooper says the horror injury toll is "not a valid excuse".

Genia concurs.

"We have a good enough group to do it," Genia said.

"Believing is the first part of winning. If you don't believe, I don't think you should turn up to be honest.

"If you go into a game not believing you can win, then you've already lost. So I just think we've got good enough quality players to do it."

Tired of the All Blacks testing the laws at the breakdown, Elsom has instructed his forwards to take matters into their own hands to ensure the Wallabies get their fair share of the ball.

"Last week that was definitely an issue for us, just bodies around the ruck. If you look at it, it slows down our attacking ball," the big flanker said.

"Anything that takes the sting out of your attack is not going to help. We've got to be able to play our ball and play it efficiently.

"You've got to move those bodies as best you can. Whether they're on our side or attacking the ball, we've got to make sure that space is clear for Willie to get out and do what he does best."

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