The Wallabies respect All Blacks coach Dave Rennie and want to show how much they have developed since the former boss took charge.
That's the view of senior players as Saturday's match at Eden Park looms as the first time Rennie will face the Wallabies since his departure at the start of 2023.
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The former Chiefs boss took over the Australians in 2019, leading them to a five game winning streak in 2021.
Rennie would be replaced by Eddie Jones after 34 Tests but his fingerprints remain on the squad.
Nine out of the 23 who defeated South Africa debuted under Rennie, including Harry Wilson, Angus Bell, Fraser McReight, Len Ikitau and Hunter Paisami.
Further stars blooded by Rennie include Nick Frost, Noah Lolesio, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Filipo Daugunu along with retired hooker Dave Porecki.
Prop Allan Alaalatoa was named skipper by the ex-Chiefs coach in 2022 and believes Rennie's impact remains far-reaching.
“A lot of the players have a lot of respect for ‘Renz’ and what he did for our group when he was here. He was probably one of the best at connecting with the group and players individually, really getting to understand them as people and their families to get the best out of him," he said on Monday.
“He's definitely got a lot of respect from a lot of the players in this environment.”
Under Rennie, McReight bided his time as the heir apparent to Michael Hooper's number seven jersey after blitzing through the pathways.
The former Junior Wallabies skipper debuted in Rennie's first Bledisloe Cup series as coach but would wait close to two years before earning a consistent start and spot in the team.
“At the time, I wanted to play as much as I could, but having ‘Hoops’ in front of me, I bided my time and they really gave me critical things to work on," he explained.
“Looking back on it, it was probably something I’m very appreciative of, being able to have those tough conversations as a young bloke in 2021 and really dialling into and understanding what training and prep looks like in a Test match week.
“A few years later, a bit older, I was able to really just have that week-in, week-out ability.”
The Wallabies are eager for the reunion with Rennie, but the pleasantries stop as soon as the whistle goes in Auckland.
“There's been a lot of players that were in this group when he first came in who had only a handful of caps. It'd probably be different for him to see the group now, which has now got a lot of experience," Alaalatoa believes.
“A lot of the boys are grateful for someone like ‘Renz’ who gave them that opportunity from the get-go. The best way to show that respect is to go out there and give it to them and play well.”
“The way that Dave's going to approach this game, I think he's got to understand our threats in our team and where we can be targeted," McReight added.
“He loves counter-attack; he loves spreading the ball. You look at all the threats that New Zealand have, they're a great team, so he'll probably want to unleash that against us so I’m sure it's going to be a lot of running rugby."
- Angus Bell
- Dave Porecki
- Pone Fa’amausili
- Nick Frost
- Darcy Swain
- Rob Leota
- Fraser McReight
- Harry Wilson
- Tate McDermott
- Noah Lolesio
- Mark Nawaqanitawase
- Hunter Paisami
- Len Ikitau
- Andrew Kellaway
- Tom Wright
