Cheika names Hooper and Pocock in Wallabies XV for All Blacks showdown

“We’ve got to have the mindset of going out there to play our best game of the year”.

It should be remembered, though, that Giteau was left out of 2011 World Cup squad.

Tonight’s Rugby Championship decider is carrying more anticipation that most Bledisloe Cup battles in recent years – but now the Wallabies need to deliver on their intriguing selections.

Michael Hooper and David Pocock have both been named to start for the Wallabies for their match against the All Blacks. The duo combine in a back-row alongside Scott Fardy while Dean Mumm and James Horwill have been paired together in a veteran lock combination.

Nor should he as an Auckland-born player who once idolised the All Blacks and cheered for them, and was raised knowing what the haka meant to them.

The balance of the Australian side raised a few eyebrows in the New Zealand camp but not the experiment of putting tearaways Hooper and Pocock on the park at the same time to gang up on New Zealand captain Richie McCaw.

But any notion of the championship serving as a mere warm-up ahead of next month’s Rugby World Cup was quickly dismissed as both Moore and McCaw pointed out exactly how fired-up the old foes will be come kick-off time at ANZ Stadium.

“Always when you play the All Blacks you have to be on your game”.

You can nearly imagine how he – or anyone in his big shoes at the time – would have felt facing the world No. 1 team he once worshipped.

“For myself, I was a step off the pace in South Africa”.

Both teams recorded wins on July 25, with the Wallabies finishing strongly against Argentina to win 34-9 and the All Blacks edging South Africa 27-20.

But retire he will, given the sheer accumulation of batterings his body has taken.

Australian captain and hooker Stephen Moore insists his team would be ready for a searching set-piece examination.

“I don’t think it’s a gamble”, Cheika told Fox Sports’ Rugby headquarters on Thursday. Things are a little different this week, however, with Smith getting the chance to start a Test at full-back.

Israel Folau is tackled at Wallabies training on Monday.

All Blacks pivot Dan Carter is under orders to test the defences with Sonny Bill Williams outside him and heading back to his best with his telling off-loads. The Waratahs fly-half enjoyed a solid hit-out with ball in hand in Mendoza but looked anything but comfortable from the kicking tee.

Today, Skelton, who has 10 Test caps, is far from in awe of the All Blacks.

The words “vulnerable” and “complacent” have been bandied about regarding the All Blacks in recent days.

The coach upped the ante for his charges on Tuesday after saying he was dissatisfied with the previous session.

The All Blacks are a bully team of raw-boned farmers, says former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.

Perhaps aware of the immutable law that Wallabies coaches are judged by their results against their neighbours from across the Tasman Sea above all else, Cheika has firmly embraced underdog status for the Sydney clash.

Richie McCaw has scored a try in each of his appearances in this year’s Rugby Championship to tally 17 in the tournament; he now sits behind only Bryan Habana (18) in the list of all-time try-scorers in this tournament (including Tri Nations).