Wallabies could be coming out of a dark place

The All Blacks came out of their dark place late last year, after losing to South Africa 32-29 in Hamilton, before embarking on an 11 test match winning run.

That streak could extend to 12 this weekend, and the All Blacks could also set the second longest consecutive winning roll over the Wallabies with eight straight victories.

But the All Blacks know that constant pressure and public and media backlash can often drive a side to greater heights, something they themselves have dealt with in the past.

Which this current Wallabies side is going through now.

Despite the resounding nature of their win over the Springboks, Robbie Deans men still have their detractors, especially considering the fickle nature of their consistency in recent years.

With the exception of a five match winning run to kick off his tenure, Deans has not managed to guide the Wallabies to better than three wins on the bounce, and even those little streaks have had the likes of Italy and Fiji in the scalp list.

The Wallabies record since 2008 over the All Blacks is 1-7, and overall their Investec Tri-Nations record is 5-8.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen has like all in the New Zealand camp been loathe to put the mockers on their Melbourne opponents, knowing that such records can serve to inspire teams.

'It's a double edged sword,' Hansen said to the Sydney Morning Herald.

'We saw the pressure they are under just by various TV clips- people doing things they don't normally do. So they're definitely feeling pressure, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Being uncomfortable takes you to places where you sometimes don't necessarily go if you're over comfortable.

'And that's our challenge. We've had two good test matches against the Springboks and we've got to make sure we're comfortable about being uncomfortable and are prepared take ourselves to the dark places as well.

'There is either internal or external pressure. At the moment Australia have a lot of external pressure- from the media, public, the fans- whereas we've come off two good performances, so our pressure has to be internal.

'We have to make sure our expectations are extremely high, and our scrutiny is really strong.'

The Wallabies, who have led the All Blacks five times in their seven losses at halftime, have been closer than the losing streak otherwise indicates, and this is something that Hansen recognised.

'…if you go back and look at those games, there is one thing which is pretty consistent. At half-time they have been in front a lot of the time. So even though it reads ugly, they're not that far away. We don't want to be sitting here patting ourselves on the back, and think we're unbeatable, because that is not the case. The Wallabies are always there or thereabouts,' Hansen said.

For all of the pressure on the Wallabies, and the form and recent record of the All Blacks coming into this match, a win for Australia would give them back to back wins over the number one and two ranked nations in world rugby.

It would go along way to guiding the Wallabies out of the darkness.

And suddenly, the pressure would be back on the All Blacks.