Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is confident both sides will throw caution to the wind in tonight's Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup test as their respective seasons teeter on a knife edge.
A day after the current kick-focused style of international rugby was labelled a "poor product" by All Black coach Graham Henry, the tactics of both sides will add intrigue to what is a must-win test for both.
Defeat would dash the All Blacks' slim Tri-Nations hopes and make it three consecutive losses for the first time since 1998.
A Wallabies defeat would be their fifth in succession against their transtasman rivals and would hand over the Bledisloe Cup for another year.
Both teams have been suffocated by the in-form Springboks in recent weeks, but Deans insisted tonight's test would be a worthy spectacle before a predicted crowd of close to 80,000 at ANZ Stadium.
"I don't think either side is going to play totally conservatively. Both are at the point where we want to stay alive in the competition and anything other than a result won't be enough to achieve that," he said.
"Under that circumstance, teams will probably be more prepared to take a risk."
Deans said both teams would be confident, despite their South African matches, which were marred by crucial errors, poor discipline and line-out blunders.
Henry's message to the game's lawmakers suggested the All Blacks want to continue spreading the ball wide, a tactic that did not work in South Africa.
That was despite Luke McAlister being chosen outside star first five-eighth Daniel Carter as an extra kicking option, mirroring the Wallabies' two playmakers, Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes.
"We actually broke the line 10 times to one in that [Durban] test match and we just didn't complete it. So that's a positive. Once we've broken the line we need to try and finish the job," Henry said.
"There needs to be a balance. Say, one kick to four passes. How does that sound?" Henry said attack coach Wayne Smith considered that the ideal ratio for the All Blacks.
Henry felt Thursday's training at North Sydney Oval was the team's best of the week.
Carter was the obvious gain for the All Blacks this week, Henry said, and despite having had just three Air New Zealand Cup matches for Canterbury, the first five had slotted back in comfortably and delivered a powerful speech on Monday with his observations of the side's shortcomings.
For the Wallabies, Rocky Elsom returns after a long injury break, and Deans said he hoped the abrasive flanker could provide the physicality his team had been missing in recent tests.
Injured captain Stirling Mortlock's absence could be a telling factor, but the Wallabies' record at the 2000 Olympic venue was a plus, with six wins from nine transtasman tests there, including three of the last four.
All Black captain Richie McCaw said there was a steely resolve to put right the cheap errors and poor execution produced in South Africa.
"We're pretty keen to get back on track performing. We're not too happy with what we've done in the previous two and the guys are pretty excited about getting that sorted."
