We've got a Test match coming up this weekend the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time, and it's on a par with a Rugby World Cup final with the winner taking all.

I guess what I was trying to imply in last week's column was that the Bledisloe Cup should be about rocking up to a stadium and asking yourself: 'Who is going to win today, who is going to walk away with the Cup?' And that is what we all want to see, not a series, and I think this weekend has delivered. There will be more interest in this Bledisloe Cup game than there has been in years.

In saying that, and having been in that environment, I can sympathise to a certain degree with what the All Blacks are going through right now. They will be hurting and they will be hurting big time. When you come off a loss and you haven't probably played the game that you went in to play, a lot of soul-searching goes on. But New Zealanders, and the All Blacks, take more out of their losses than they do their wins.

That's where you really learn and that's how you bounce back. I suppose this is a measure for this team. I remember Graham Henry saying a couple of years ago that the All Blacks needed a loss just to fine tune the mind and to realise that it is winner take all; it's all or nothing, and that is Test-match rugby. If they can use last week's loss to their advantage, this could be a positive; and with that in mind we are in for a cracker this weekend.

I think the Australians realised that the home advantage was pretty important to them if they were going to beat the All Blacks; having the Sydney crowd behind them in their fortress was something they could draw strength from. As a result of that win, there will be a lot more self-belief going on inside that Wallabies camp now.

The way they started the game and the boost they took from certain areas would have helped. One was the scrum and getting some dominance early on. They just grew confidence within the camp and they were able to play to the game plan they took into the match.

The All Blacks, on reflection, will look at how they counter the Australians' game and; when they look at a team that adopts the rush-style defence when you have got the ball in hand, they have to look at ways to create some go-forward. With a rush-style defence you either kick in behind them looking for space or you create go-forward. And when you create go-forward it means your big boys up front have got to get the opposition's defensive line moving backwards which nullifies the rush.

There's an old cliche in rugby that you have to earn the right to go wide; the All Blacks in Sydney were trying to push passes when they actually hadn't created any go-forward. That just resulted in them putting themselves under a pile of pressure. This week, it's going to come down to the big tonkers up front to create that go-forward for the backs to be able to play; and I've no doubt that will be one of the messages being rammed home for Saturday.

The David Pocock-Michael Hooper combo should not have been a surprise for the All Blacks. If you go back to the early 2000s when George Smith and Phil Waugh used to hunt together, it was the same thing. That was a style Australia adopted and it worked for them. It's not anything new we're seeing from them, and the key is out-muscling Australia by taking them on in the physical battle.

David Pocock's combination with Michael Hooper proved to be a success © Getty Images

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Make no mistake, Australia are a talented team. They do have a lot of skill. There's no point kicking to them, as they are really good under the high ball, and they have a number of class players.

Matt Giteau's play demonstrated the fact that you cannot put enough value on experience. For a number of years that was one of the issues Australia had - a lack of experience. They have always been young rugby players with a lot of talent. But those young, talented players with some old heads around them, they get a superior level of confidence and guidance - and that is a special thing. Giteau has been around, has been Europe's No.1 player and has won championships for Toulon; Michael Cheika has made a smart call in bringing him back.

It was interesting to see Argentina beat South African in Durban. But South Africa haven't been the team they have been in other years. In saying that, they are still capable of turning around and winning the World Cup. They may be a bit like the All Blacks in needing a kick up the rear end and that loss may have delivered it to them.

They have certainly got some talented backs, especially at first and second five-eighths and at centre. Heyneke Meyer may have been concerned about their fitness but he will know there will be no shortage of teams going into the World Cup who are extremely fit. There's no excuse for a lack of fitness going into a Rugby World Cup.

While they have another game to play in Argentina this weekend, the win will have boosted the confidence of the Pumas ahead of their World Cup game with the All Blacks. But the All Blacks know it is about them and how they want to play, and it is the same this weekend for the Bledisloe as it is for the World Cup.

The attitude adjustment is the key and history states more often than not that after a loss the All Blacks will come back with that attitude adjustment. I think the All Blacks are lucky this weekend as they have the chance for redemption only a week later on a ground that they generally go well on.

I'm tipping an All Blacks win and I don't care if it is by one point; I think there is going to be some blood spilt, too.

New Zealand's Richie McCaw © Getty Images

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