Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight has warned his playing group they'll need more than just belief in themselves and each other if they're to win the opening Bledisloe Cup clash at Eden Park on Saturday.
Riding high on a six-match unbeaten streak, including an incredible victory over the world champion Springboks in Perth, the Wallabies landed in Auckland on Sunday confident and ready to take on an All Blacks side riding a three-game winless run. But history is very much against Australia.
The Wallabies haven't won at Eden Park since 1986, or on New Zealand soil at all since 2001, while the Bledisloe Cup has eluded them for 24 years with Eddie Jones the last Australia coach to lift the trophy.
Already without stars Taniela Tupou and Tom Hooper because of their club commitments, and Hunter Paisami through suspension, the Wallabies are also sweating on injuries to Len Ikitau and rising star Josh Canham. Belief in the group remains high, though.
"Belief is strong," McReight told reporters on Tuesday. "But again, we're understanding of where we're at and how much better we need to get. We just don't want to talk the talk; we want to walk the walk and be able to deliver it.
"It's all about having good training. We had a great day today, had a good prep yesterday, and throughout the week, we're going to get better, do some more review, and obviously have another session on Thursday before we play Saturday.
"Belief is strong, but belief won't cut it. We have to go out there and perform, and to do that, we've got to get our minds right, get our bodies right, and start to dial in when we need to."
Eden Park's history is daunting. The Wallabies aren't the only side that has struggled to claim victory at the All Blacks' fortress with New Zealand enjoying a 52-Test unbeaten streak at the ground, running all the way back to 1994.
It's a record that sits on every player's mind, whether that be visitor or All Black, and putting the pressure back on New Zealand is how the Wallabies aim to frame the game, according to the 47-Test star.
"You can look at it two ways. We're really trying to win, and get the win over here, and be the first side ever [since 1994], but they're also defending it, and that has to play in their psyche as well. I think that's probably how we're trying to frame it.
"We're just trying to attack every moment, and I think we're still trying to get better. We're working hard for each other. We care a lot about each other, and about the group, with everyone involved.
"We just really want to put in a great performance for the fans, and for our family. To do that, we have to have a really good week. You can't really think about Eden Park, and trying to win the Bledisloe, or trying to break the curse, or the hoodoo, or whatever people call it, but you just kind of focus on each moment.
"If that takes you to the 80th minute, whether you win, or whether you lose, you've got to stand by that. Just try to be present as much as you can."
The match will also be the first time the Wallabies take on their former coach Dave Rennie, who was infamously dumped from his role just nine months out from Rugby World Cup 2023. After coaching in Japan's League One, he was named Scott Robertson's replacement at the All Blacks earlier this year and after enjoying four straight wins to start his tenure, has suffered three back-to-back losses in the lead into the Bledisloe Cup.
Rennie handed Test debuts to several current Wallabies players, including McReight, who earned 10 Test caps under the New Zealander and was forced to bide his time behind then captain Michael Hooper. Six years on from making his Test debut against the All Blacks in Sydney, the 27-year-old remains thankful for the lessons Rennie provided him.
"He gave me and a lot of the other boys a debut, which obviously I'm very thankful for, but at the time, personally, I wanted to play as much as I could, but having Hoops in front of me, biding my time, it really gave me critical things to work on, and I was able to use that.
"Now, looking back on it, it was probably something I'm very appreciative of, being able to have those tough conversations as a young bloke at 20, 21, being able to dial in and understand what training and your prep looks like in a Test-match week. A few years later, a bit older, I was able to really have that week-in, week-out sort of ability.
"He's got an understanding of our threats in our team and where we can be targeted and he loves counterattack, he loves spreading the ball. You look at all the threats that New Zealand have, they're a great team, so he'll probably want to unleash that against us. I'm sure it's going to be a lot of running rugby.
"They'll probably use that kicking game as well and will try to run it, they'll love to counter-attack and try to get their weapons involved, which is great because we like to play that way too.
"If you look back, even last year and the year before that, the Test matches were very competitive. There was some great running rugby, and I look forward to that sort of Test match because I think all Australians love playing that sort of footy because that's how we play, so, being able to prep for that all week is fun."