Brisbane breakthrough gives All Blacks edge

It wasn't pretty, but Richie McCaw rated it one of his most satisfying days in an All Blacks rugby jersey.

Two years ago, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and the All Blacks ground out an epic 13-9 win over the Wallabies as new captain McCaw produced one of his best tests.

Now as they chase a potential Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup-clinching victory at the same ground on Saturday, McCaw harked back to 2006 for inspiration in a country where recent success has been sparse for All Blacks sides.

In 13 tests in Australia in the past decade the All Blacks have won just four and the Wallabies nine, including the past two in Sydney in July and Melbourne last year.

Flanker McCaw will again be a massive figure after defying injury to inspire the All Blacks to wins in Auckland and Cape Town.

Last month's 19-0 win over the Springboks had coach Graham Henry raving about McCaw's best performance in 64 tests in the black jersey.

The man himself rated Cape Town and the 2006 Brisbane test as "right up there" in his personal log book, but you get the impression Brisbane stood out.

"That one was pretty tight and we hadn't had that many wins where we had to really grind it out," McCaw said today.

"Previously when I'd been an All Black and it had got tight we'd tripped over against the Wallabies over here.

"To win that was hugely satisfying. I had one of my better days and I think a lot of guys felt like that. We had to really dig deep at the end when they were attacking."

The most memorable play was McCaw's trysaving tackle and turnover on Wallabies wing Mark Gerrard in the dying minutes, although there were earlier turnovers McCaw felt were just as significant.

This year McCaw missed the 19-34 loss in Sydney then returned for Auckland despite an ankle injury.

Yesterday he was confirmed as captain after recent battles with a rib injury.

"The previous two matches I was happy in the fact that I hadn't played a lot of rugby and I came back into a team that was pretty desperate after a couple of losses.

"I was happy with the way I slotted back in. On Saturday we're going to be up against a team that's desperate and we've got to be the same."

That's a desperate team still smarting from a record 53-8 hiding from the Springboks in Johannesburg a fortnight ago.

For Wallabies coach Robbie Deans it was his biggest defeat in Super 14 or test rugby.

The only other 50-pointer in a glittering career was his Crusaders' 16-51 defeat by the Brumbies in Canberra in 2001.

McCaw said Deans, his former mentor, would have no problem ditching the loss.

"In Super 14 this year we had a loss leading into the semifinals. His big strength is to get guys to dump it and believe in what they're doing.

"I'm sure he won't need to do too much of that. Guys will just want to be back on the field and he'll channel it in the right direction. It'll be a totally different team.

"In the test before (in Durban) they played some pretty damn good rugby and it's never easy to win over there any time."

The All Blacks have an unchanged starting side for a third consecutive Tri-Nations test while the Wallabies have 13 of their 15 starters back from the win in Sydney.

Notably, flanker Rocky Elsom returns after missing the Auckland test due to injury, which McCaw felt was significant in the All Blacks' 39-10 win which avenged the Sydney defeat.

"They did miss Rocky Elsom in Auckland, obviously in the lineouts and he's a pretty good ball carrier as well. They get quite a bit of inspiration from him, just what he brings to the team, his energy."

- NZPA