A perfect season and maintaining a home win record over Australia that goes back to 2001 are motivating factors for the All Blacks ahead of Saturday's final Bledisloe Cup test in Dunedin.
Despite having the Rugby Championship and the Bledisloe Cup secured coach Steve Hansen is dismissing any notion Saturday's test is a dead rubber as he demands further improvement.
While Australia had a confidence-boosting 54-17 win over Argentina in their last outing, they've not looked like bea able to beat the All Blacks for some time.
The Wallabies have mostly struggled this season since losing the British and Irish Lions series and will be weakened by a string of injuries that robbed them of their first choice goalkicker Matt Toomua and left them with just one healthy winger.
A similarly threadbare outfit did, however, defy the odds to deny the All Blacks a 17th successive victory in an 18-18 draw in Brisbane last year - a match Hansen described as one of the ugliest games of rugby he had ever seen.
With New Zealand embarking on a trip to Japan before playing tests in France, England and Ireland after Saturday's match, Hansen said it was vital his team did not let their momentum falter.
Hansen will name his team on Thursday.
