Giant winger Jonah Lomu hopes his 50th Test appearance for the All Blacks against Australia at Carisbrook on Saturday will be a watershed for his team rather than solely a personal milestone.

Lomu will enter the Tri-Nations rugby union match focused on the future, reluctant to reflect on a career dogged by ill-health but one that has made him one of the world's most identifiable sportsmen.

Several question marks hover over Lomu in this match which in any circumstances will be one of his most notable Test appearances. His contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union ends in November and his manager, Welshman Phil Kingsley-Jones, has been inundated by offers for Lomu's services from league and rugby organizations around the world.

It is widely supposed Lomu will re-sign with the New Zealand union at the end of the year and through the next World Cup. But Kingsley-Jones has said he must consider all offers and there can be no certainty Lomu will stay in New Zealand or in rugby.

Lomu pushed all of those considerations aside this week to focus on a Test match he said is vital to the future of New Zealand rugby. He said without hesitation that John Eales' Wallaby side, the World Cup, Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup champions, are the best team in world rugby and the yardstick against which all other sides are measured.

The All Blacks, who were fourth at the last World Cup, are determined to reclaim their status as the world's No 1 rugby nation. Lomu said that process must begin Saturday.

"It's a turning point for New Zealand because these are the players, hopefully, who will go through to the 2003 World Cup," Lomu said. "This will gauge us against the best in the world because the Wallabies are No 1. We will know how much we've grown as a team and how far we've come."

Lomu avoided speculation on his own future - "I play the game and leave the other stuff to my manager."

We've had a few years of practice together and we've got it down to a tee now. I leave it to him until he's got something finalized, then he'll give me a ring and we'll talk about it.

"But he knows that once Test week comes around, nothing disturbs me until the game is over."

The Wallabies arrived in Dunedin on Thursday, greeted by cool and grim weather and a forecast promising strong winds and cold temperatures on Saturday.

Captain John Eales was aware that to beat the All Blacks and kick-start their Tri-Nations campaign after their 20-15 loss to South Africa in Pretoria, the Wallabies must overcome the Curse of Carisbrook.

The Wallabies have never beaten New Zealand at the Dunedin ground and deliberately left their arrival late to minimize the effect the southern city has had on their confidence.

New Zealand opened its Tri-Nations campaign with a 12-3 win over South Africa in Cape Town three weeks ago. There is some concern the long break between that match and Saturday's might have reduced their sharpness.

But centre Tana Umaga said the All Blacks are prepared for Saturday's match. "We've trained really well this week," said Umaga. "We just have to make sure we carry all that into the game and not train like Tarzan and play like Jane." - Sapa