Wallaby five-eighth Stephen Larkham has declared himself an almost certain starter for the next Tri-Nations match against the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday week.

Larkham will rejoin the Wallabies camp this week after recovering from nerve damage in his shoulder, suffered during the second British and Irish Lions Test in Melbourne on July 7.

Larkham rejoins the squad at an important stage after the Wallabies' scratchy 20-15 loss to the Springboks in Pretoria last Saturday.

"I'll definitely go back into camp on Saturday and I'm pretty confident I'll be right to play as long as there are no setbacks," Larkham said. "I can't see why there would be any problems.

"My arm is about 95 per cent when I move it in certain directions but strength-wise it's 100 per cent."

Queensland's Elton Flatley has been impressive at flyhalf in Larkham's absence and he was again solid against the Springboks.

But there is no doubt Larkham is Australia's best No.10 and his presence will boost the Wallabies for their trip to Dunedin's notorious House of Pain.

"There was some speculation I could be out for nine months so I've been pretty relieved with how it's worked out so far," Larkham said.

"It's not like other injuries I've had because it's a nerve problem and I'm still training most days."

Larkham watched the Wallabies' loss to South Africa on television and felt Irish referee David McHugh's rule interpretations had contributed to Australia's disappointing performance.

McHugh has been widely panned for his performance, which prompted rare on-field outbursts from Wallaby captain John Eales.

"We like to build a few phases and because of some of the technical rulings we rarely got past second phase," Larkham said.

"The rulings were the same for both teams but I think it hurt us more because we're a team that relies on building some momentum."

New Zealand has firmed as favourite for the Tri-Nations crown ahead of Australia and the Springboks, who remain 7-1 outsiders despite their win.