McCaw wants Bledisloe and more "performances"

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has said that while winning the overall Investec Tri-Nations title is important, the Bledisloe Cup was something that dominated their thoughts when playing the Wallabies.

The clash at Etihad Stadium is the first of four encounters between the sides in 2010, with the overall status quo for the encounters in favour of the Wallabies.

Next week they will play at AMI Stadium, and while the Australian’s will approach Christchurch as the “away” team, a large part of the All Blacks home ground advantage will seem irrelevant considering that Robbie Deans knows the stadium – with a section named after his family – better than any coach in the world.

The Wallabies then return home to their home comforts at ANZ Stadium for the final clash, although how the Trans-Tasman foes will be at that stage will be dependent on how furious the Springboks response will be when they welcome their Tri-Nations rivals.

Their will be a fourth clash in Hong Kong.

The expanded Super 15 and eventual creation of the “Four Nations” will likely mean that this will be the last time that the Bledisloe Cup is played on neutral soil.

Since 2003 the All Blacks have had an iron grip on a cup donated by Lord Bledisloe in 1931, winning seven straight series for an overall match ledger of 16 wins to New Zealand versus three to Australia.

The Wallabies impressive victory over the Springboks has given them some precious momentum going into this match, and they could truly give what has been a mixed record overall a shot in the arm with back-to-back wins over the world’s two best rugby nations.

It truly could be a defining match for Robbie Deans and his often maligned Wallabies.

But the All Blacks, with two bonus points wins to their credit, eleven straight test victories, a seven match winning run against the Wallabies and with an extra week’s rest, should hold one or two more aces than their foes despite the Australian’s home ground advantage.

Win this, and they need but one more victory to retain the Bledisloe, while curling one hand on the Tri-Nations.

This match, with all its promise and permutations, is huge.

Richie McCaw agrees, with the captain running out in his 86th test match.

"It definitely is. If we could go home with another win under out belt, that would set us up pretty well for the game next week. Even for the Bledisloe … it gets one hand back on it," McCaw said to stuff.co.nz

The captain also said that the Bledisloe held special significance, not only for the Cup itself, but for what it means in regards to Tri-Nations calculations.

"I think the Bledisloe probably edges ahead but if you get the Bledisloe there's a fair chance you have the other one as well. The Bledisloe is really important ... when you come to play the Wallabies that's the one you want to look after the most."

For all the talk of trophies, McCaw said it was important the All Blacks kept building continued showing the consistency they have shown since losing to the Springboks in Hamilton last year.

Their two wins against the Springboks were wins ten and eleven in a impressive streak, and the captain did not want all of the sides hard work to be undone.

"Really, I think it would be a shame to undo the good work that has gone on in the past two tests if we don't put another good performance together here.

"It's easy to get up when there a few doubts about what is going to happen. But when you have had two good performances, it's a sign of a good team to be able to do that again and that's what we want to do."

McCaw also said that preparation was not based on history, but on their most recent showings, with their self-belief coming from what has been a blinding start to the 2010 test season.

"I think the confidence you get is from what we are doing this year rather than previous years. It (winning seven in a row against Australia) means nothing. We have to prepare on the performances we have had this year."