Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is preparing for an intense Bledisloe Cup encounter at Suncorp Stadium, declaring "it's not like we're best friends", while Stephen Moore has stressed "talk is cheap" as his side gears up for a final duel with the All Blacks.
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Tensions have simmered between the Wallabies and All Blacks since the World Cup final in 2015. Beneath the surface there is respect for one another but a deep hatred of the other side.
The Australians feel they have been short-changed on a number of crucial refereeing decisions in the last few years, while those across the ditch believe Cheika ought to shut his mouth in post-match press conferences and take his medicine.
"It's not like we're all best friends hanging around, there's a lot of intensity when this encounter comes," Cheika said. "This is an important fixture for us in itself. I don't think anyone who I have run into thinks it's a dead rubber. Australia versus New Zealand in any context is a huge fixture.
"They've got long-standing bragging rights, mate. It's really up to us to show that we're going to be competitive every single time we go out there and make the games battles that both teams will remember.
"We've got to improve again to think about competing with this team. It's one of the best teams that's ever run out to play rugby over the last five or seven years. To compete with that, we've got to show our teeth."
The Wallabies have only beaten the All Blacks on one occasion from eight attempts with Cheika in charge.
As for Moore, he has faced the All Blacks 29 times and come away with just five wins for a winning record of 17 per cent.
Plenty has been made of Australia's improvements, in attack and defence, since they were thumped 54-34 in Sydney in the Bledisloe Cup opener in August.
Moore just wants to see results and the team to show it can match it with the world's best, as the Wallabies showed they could do in Dunedin.
"This group is well aware that talk is cheap around these games and you need to go out there and make it happen on the day," Moore said. "That's the time to do it.
"From the time we first played New Zealand, we've certainly come a fair degree as a team. We've identified where we needed to get better and we've just spent more time together and that's hard to replicate. That time together has transferred to on the field.
"This is the most important one on Saturday because there is an opportunity for us to go out there and show our fans and our families what it means to play for Australia."
The Wallabies insist they have moved on from the 35-29 loss in Dunedin and know a fast start is imperative otherwise they risk being blown off the park like in Sydney.
"We're going to need to up the ante against New Zealand again because you know what they're going to bring," Cheika said. "It's up to us to bring something first. You can't let them come knocking straight away because you've seen what happens in the past. They can take you for plenty if you're not on from the very first whistle."
Halfback Will Genia added: "You've got to fight hard to win every single moment because going back to that game [in Dunedin] they held onto the ball for two minutes and scored. It's going to be a tough Test."
