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WALLABIES captain Nathan Sharpe has called on Australia to drop their attachment to underdog status and mature as a rugby playing nation.
Sharpe said a week of preparation as good as any he could remember, combined with the Wallabies' famed capacity to rise to a challenge, made an upset victory possible at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
But the veteran second-rower also said the Wallabies could not afford to keep relying on emotion and sheer guts to get themselves out of difficult situations and needed to focus more on building consistency.
''We like a challenge. It probably fits the Australian psyche a little bit. When the back's to the wall, the guys love to show their character. That's a strength, but it's also a weakness and something we've got to get away from in Australian rugby,'' Sharpe said.
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''[Relying on emotion] doesn't allow you to build consistency in your performance. To be consistent you've got to be able to prepare the same way each week and perform with minimal degrees of difference in your performance. You can't rely on the emotional side of things to get you up each week.''
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said the All Blacks had combined a blend of both components and had taken their game to another level.
''It's easy to respond when you're under the pump but, as Sharpie says, the key is being more than that, and that's what the Kiwis have mastered in many ways, hence they've retained their number one status many times,'' Deans said.
Deans shrugged off questions about what tonight's result could mean for his future in Australia, saying: ''It's like that every week. It's the nature of the game. There's no point in dwelling on it. It's about these blokes, helping them get up and helping them do what they do.''
A win tonight would take the All Blacks' unbeaten run to 17 matches, equalling their own record and that of the Springboks under Nick Mallett in the late 1990s.
Deans, Sharpe and the rest of the squad would like nothing more than to deny them that milestone but a look at both sides - patched up and gutsy on one hand and meticulous and bristling with confidence on the other - gives pause to even the most devoted Wallabies fan.
Deans said there was no second-guessing inside the camp.
''We're entering this game to win,'' he said. ''There's nothing else on these blokes' minds. We understand who we're playing, we respect who we're playing, but we also respect what we're about and are very keen to maximise this chance.''
The match is Sharpe's last at his original home ground. There was little time for nostalgia yesterday as the former Reds and Force second-rower eyed a chance to jag the upset of his career.
''Every team's beatable,'' Sharpe said. ''We'll have to play the best game we've played this year, by a way as well.
''We know that and we're aware of that and we've had a great week of preparation. So, if we can translate that into the performance on the field tomorrow night, we'll give ourselves a shot.''
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