Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has hailed Richie McCaw's durability and consistency as the All Blacks skipper prepares to play his final Test on Australian soil.

McCaw on Saturday will play his 17th and final Test across the Tasman as the All Blacks look to wrap up the Bledisloe Cup for a 14th straight year and claim a fourth straight Rugby Championship crown. He will be looking to round out a 10-4-2 record on Australian soil that stretches back to 2002; one last win at ANZ Stadium will also wipe the memory of last year's dour 12-all draw at the venue.

The year has descended into a farewell tour of sorts for McCaw, with the 34-year-old flanker having twice waved goodbye to Christchurch - in both All Blacks and Crusaders colours; and next week's return Bledisloe clash in Auckland will mark his final Test on home soil. There has been no shortage of well-wishers and photo opportunities and there was never any real doubt as to who'd don the No.7 jersey when the Test season rolled around - even considering the scuttlebutt in the early part of Super Rugby that suggested Sam Cane was now the premier All Blacks openside.

Speaking to ESPN ahead of his maiden Bledisloe Cup Test as Wallabies coach, Michael Cheika added his voice to the McCaw farewell tour, hailing the All Blacks skipper's astounding period of consistency.

"Well I don't know him very much as a person but, what a player, you know? What a fantastic player. The difference between the good players and the great players is the great players play good all the time, and he certainly plays good all the time."

That was certainly the case in Johannesburg last week, when the All Blacks came from behind to snatch victory from the Springboks at Ellis Park. And who should be there for the defining play? McCaw, of course.

"Yeah, I thought 'very well thought out'," Cheika said when asked about McCaw's match-sealing five-pointer. "And more importantly calling it in the key moment; that shows a lot of self-belief. And it's classic of them, they scored a try similar off some type of move like that in the [2011] World Cup final under immense pressure and, you know, it shows where they're at around their own self-belief."

Richie McCaw scored the match-winner in Johannesburg via a smart lineout move © Getty Images

Enlarge

It remains to be seen who plays opposite McCaw in the Wallabies No.7 jersey this weekend, with Cheika to name his team on Thursday. Waratahs openside Michael Hooper - who survived a SANZAR appeal into his one-week suspension for striking - started against the Springboks in Brisbane before David Pocock took over against Argentina in Mendoza.

Cheika hinted that he was unlikely to select both Hooper and Pocock in the starting side despite widespread calls for a double-openside approach to be trialled from the opening whistle; the Bledisloe Cup, he said, was no place for "experimentation". But they'll both be up for the contest, no matter which player Cheika decides to go with.

"Yeah, I'm happy with our lot there," Cheika said. "And I think the battle between the 7s are often a little bit overplayed; they never really sort of come into contact with each other. But the relative job that that No.7 does for his team against the opposition is usually that sort of comparison that's made between the two. So, yeah, I'm really happy with the lads and the way they've started the international season so far has been excellent."