All Black assistant coach Wayne Smith said yesterday the side was aware of how big the semifinal against the Wallabies would be on Sunday at Eden Park but now it was not necessarily about ability but more to do with mental toughness and desire.
"Any time you get to this stage of the tournament at semifinal time then it is about will, and the strength of that will. Tournaments throw up all sorts of things: injuries, selections and you can't control any of that. And it is the same for other teams," Smith said.
"It is not now who you've got in the team but what is inside you that counts. That is what will win it."
Both sides have some sort of advantage going into the match - the All Blacks have not lost to the Wallabies at Eden Park since 1986 but the Wallabies won the most recent encounter between the two teams, in Brisbane in August.
Smith said the All Blacks were not taking much notice of the way the Wallabies scraped a win over the Springboks in their quarterfinal in Wellington last Sunday.
"With the Wallabies you cannot make any assumptions. We have got huge respect for them and they have for us. We've played often over the years and we know it is going to be a massive encounter.
"As with any team, you have expectations how the game is going to be played but when you get on to the field you can't bring that with you. You just have to play what is in front of you."
The Wallabies put together a huge defensive effort against the Springboks and have question marks about their squad, with one suggestion that mercurial first five-eighth Quade Cooper may be moved to fullback if Kurtley Beale does not recover from a hamstring strain..
Cooper put in an average effort against the Springboks and has struggled so far in the tournament to impose himself on games.
But Smith said players who were accused of being in bad form did not take long to come out of it.
"All I can talk about is the experience we've had against him. He is mercurial, he is dangerous and if he has a good day then we're in trouble."
He pointed to All Black winger Zac Guildford, as a player who could turn things round quickly.
He had a poor match in Brisbane against the Wallabies but bounced back well to perform strongly against Canada, Smith said.
The All Blacks began their preparations for the semifinal with a light run yesterday afternoon and, with 10 tests in the past three months, the players will not be doing a lot of physical work this week.
Before training, the side had lunch with members of the 1987 All Black team, the only team to win the tournament for New Zealand.
Smith said it was good for his side to meet these players, and have a casual chat.
"We have had Brian Lochore in the camp over a number of years and the '87 team has grown to be legendary. To get them in and have a lunch with them and have a casual chat was great.
"We had a small talk from David Kirk - how they felt going into the quarters, the semis, which really helped us. I think there were some good words they [team] can take out of it."