It's hardly fear, but the All Blacks are approaching Saturday's Test with plenty of respect for a revitalised Wallabies outfit, even while considering some team changes.

Despite a winning run over their trans-Tasman rivals that now stretches to nine-straight Test victories, the New Zealanders say they expect the ANZ Stadium clash to be the toughest they've faced in 2010.

With the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations trophy already in their safe keeping, the visitors appear set to give two of their most promising players starting roles.

Training line-ups suggest Victor Vito and Israel Dagg may come in at the expense of flanker Jerome Kaino and winger Joe Rokocoko, while youngster Aaron Cruden is to replace injured playmaker Dan Carter.

But All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith says the dynamic Wallabies attack which opened up healthy early leads in their last two Tests in South Africa has to be recognised and nullified by the Kiwis.

While the Wallabies were unable to stop the Springboks coming back in both Tests, even losing at Loftus Versfeld after holding a 14-0 lead, Smith also feels the spirit on display in their 41-39 victory at Bloemfontein last weekend shows the Wallabies are a better team than they were when the All Blacks last met them.

"They would have taken a lot out of that," Smith said.

"They seem to have a good spirit. In terms of their attack they offer a much tougher proposition for our defence than any other challenge we've had this year, even than against them previously.

"They're playing a lot better in attack now than they did the last couple of times we played them.

"That's going to be the challenge for us."

Smith concedes part of that increased attacking threat is undoubtedly linked to the return of boom five-eighth Quade Cooper from a two-match suspension which saw the Queensland playmaker miss both Bledisloe encounters earlier this year.

"He certainly changes the picture," Smith said of Cooper.

"There's no doubt about that. He and (halfback Will) Genia have a great partnership going there but I think everyone in attack's played well for them.

"They've got a pattern that they seem to have become used to so they provide quite a few threats right across the track, it's not just Cooper.

"You can't win at altitude against a desperate Boks team without having grown yourself. I think that'll make a difference to them.

"Having said all that though, we've got a great spirit, we've got strong leadership and we've had a couple of weeks to refresh and recover."

The last time an All Blacks team lost to the Wallabies was in Sydney in 2008, but despite nearly three years without a loss to Australia, Smith said there was no chance of his team taking their opponents lightly this weekend.

"I can't remember too many soft encounters against any Wallaby team and that holds true today," he said.

"Whilst we've had a lot of wins against them, a lot of them have been down to the wire, we've been down at halftime a hell of a lot of times and had to fightback and there's never been a degree of comfort in the coaching box I can tell you that."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP