The All Blacks insist they do not care who the face in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals as Ireland and France prepare to do battle for the right to meet the reigning champions.

Steve Hansen's men cruised through to the knockout phase as Pool C winners after thumping Tonga in their final pool match, running in seven tries despite a glitchy first-half performance in Newcastle.

Ireland and France meet in the penultimate match of the pool stages in Cardiff on Sunday, with the winner of the Pool D clash going on to face the All Blacks next weekend, but the world's No.1-ranked team revealed they are only thinking about themselves as they hunt back-to-back Webb Ellis Cups.

"I don't care who we face," New Zealand coach Hansen said. "All I care about is that we made it. Who we play is irrelevant. The good thing is that we've finished our games but they [Ireland and France] have still got to have theirs, so we'll sit back and hopefully watch them get stuck into it. Both of them are quality teams so there's no advantage in playing one or the other."

Despite scoring 19 points from a possible 20 to top Pool C, the All Blacks have looked a little rusty in victories over Georgia and Tonga, at least in the first half against the Pacific Islanders. Hansen, however, insisted his squad would put indifferent performances behind them with the knockout phase looming.

"We're really happy to have got through the pool stage," he said. "We've given ourselves the opportunity to play some finals footy. Whatever has happened in the last month or so is irrelevant now. It's what we turn up with at the Millennium Stadium next Saturday that will determine how far we go."

New Zealand endured a difficult evening on their last meeting with Ireland, relying on an overtime try to rescue victory by two points at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in November 2013. Their recent history with France has been just as dramatic, with the two sides playing out a tense World Cup final in 2011 as the All Blacks emerged victorious by a single point.

Despite the history, fullback Ben Smith -- one of the stand-out performers in Friday's victory over Tonga -- revealed the All Blacks might not even have time to watch the crunch Pool D match on Sunday afternoon.

Ma'a Nonu scored a try in his 100th Test © Getty Images

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"We've just been concentrating on Tonga and doing the best job we can there," he told ESPN. "We need to get our right and go from there. We're travelling down to Swansea and it'll be a matter of when we get into the hotel and whether we have time to watch it, but we'll see how we go."

The mantra of taking each game as it comes is something of a sporting cliché, but such was the regularity with which the All Blacks offered that analysis of their tournament so far that it appears they genuinely are only looking at the next 80 minutes of rugby, rather than letting their thoughts float to the semifinals or, indeed, another final.

Flanker Sam Cane, in for the injured Richie McCaw at St James' Park, revealed that New Zealand aren't looking for any easy options come the knockout phase and will be throwing everything they have at their next opponents.

"If a team wants to be crowned world champions, they're going to have to beat the best at some point," he told ESPN. "Whoever we play, we'll prepare the best we can. Make no mistake, we're not looking any further ahead than this quarterfinal. Since we've had the Tonga game we can start looking forward to it, and I'm sure it's going to be an exciting game."

The All Blacks are yet to hit top gear and, given the impressive performances of Southern Hemisphere rivals Australia, might not enjoy the procession to their third Webb Ellis Cup that many thought they would, but they are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in this tournament.

Smith, however, insisted his teammates would not allow their thoughts to wander beyond the quarterfinals. "We're not looking any further ahead than next weekend," he said. "That's going to be a big game for us and it's just about getting our preparation right for it."