Sam Cane has sent a stern warning to Argentina ahead of their Tri-Nations clash in Sydney on Saturday as the All Blacks look to avoid rare back-to-back defeats.
Coach Ian Foster has named his strongest possible side for the test at Bankwest Stadium, which comes a week after the All Blacks' 24-22 loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane.
The All Blacks have not lost in back-to-back tests since 2011, prior to the Rugby World Cup.
They have also never lost to Argentina, whose best result in 29 meetings was a draw in Buenos Aires back in 1985.
Last time the two teams met, the All Blacks won 20-16, although they fielded an under-strength side which featured four debutantes.
Cane says the team is determined to avenge last week's loss and he's champing at the bit to get back out on the field.
"We obviously weren't overly proud of last week's performance and we came out of the review at the start of this week with some pretty clear focuses. So we'll be going out there for sure to put in a much-improved performance and one that we can be proud of.
"I don't feel I have to try and motivate the team as such to try and play well. They've got a bit of an edge about them already."
Along with having never lost to Argentina, the All Blacks also have match fitness under their belts having completed an entire Super Rugby Aotearoa season, along with four tests against the Wallabies in the last five weeks.
Compare that to Argentina who have not played a test since last year's World Cup, while lots of the players haven't featured in a competitive match since the COVID-19 outbreak in March.
To prepare for the Tri-Nations, Argentina have played two warm-up games against Australia A .
Despite their lack of preparation, Cane is wary of the threat Argentina poses.
"We've definitely got a little bit of an advantage over them in that area having played four test matches in the last five weeks," says Cane.
"They'll be very fresh and having had four weeks together training for this game, they'll be well structured and know how they want to play the game so that might even it out a wee bit.
"Any time a team has had a lot of preparation going into a test match and so much has gone into it they're always going to be a dangerous side.
"They'll go out with immense pride and we know how passionate they can be, so we'll be expecting the first 20 minutes particularly for it to be all on."
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks v Argentina Tri Nations test
