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Melbourne - New Zealand captain Richie McCaw and his Australian counterpart Rocky Elsom say the pitch for Saturday's Tri-Nations match should be fine, dismissing criticism of the surface.
McCaw said on Friday that he and the All Blacks squad visited the Docklands venue on Thursday and had little issue with the pitch that has been criticized by Australian Rules football players for being uneven and spongy in places.
"It's been a lot of talk about not much," McCaw said on Friday. "It's not the best I've played on but it's going to be ... good as gold."
McCaw compared the roofed stadium to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium - the venue where the All Blacks were upset 20-18 by France in the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals.
"Two big forward packs pushing the scrum may rip the ground up a bit but it will be fine," he said.
Elsom said on Friday "it looks a little better than Millennium Stadium normally does."
"And when we get there (for Tests against Wales) it's the middle of November ... it's pretty well mud painted green," Elsom added. "So it's a fair bit better (at Melbourne)."
Earlier in the week, both teams made two changes to winning line-ups.
The Wallabies, who beat South Africa 30-13 at Brisbane last Saturday, reinstated Matt Giteau at flyhalf in place of the suspended Quade Cooper. With Giteau moving in one spot, Berrick Barnes won a recall to the starting line-up at inside centre.
Cooper received a two-match suspension for a dangerous tackle in the South Africa match and his appeal against the ban was unsuccessful. He will also miss next weekend's match against the All Blacks in Christchurch.
The All Blacks named a fit Joe Rokocoko on the left wing in place of Rene Ranger and Jimmy Cowan at scrumhalf ahead of Piri Weepu.
Rokocoko missed the second of New Zealand's two Test wins over Tri-Nations champions South Africa with a hamstring injury but has won back his place in a starting XV boasting more than 700 Test caps.
He will make his 64th Test appearance, moving ahead of John Kirwan and Jonah Lomu as the All Blacks' most-capped winger. Prop Tony Woodcock will play his 66th Test, joining Greg Somerville as the most-capped All Blacks prop.
The All Blacks, led by McCaw and fullback Mils Muliaina who will both play their 86th Tests, have put together a team of extraordinary depth.
"We will need all our experience up against what is a very good Wallabies side," All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.
Nathan Sharpe will equal the record of World Cup-winning captain John Eales for most caps earned by a Wallabies lock when he makes his 84th Test appearance.
Australia will attempt to avoid losing its eighth consecutive Test against the All Blacks, its worst losing sequence since New Zealand had nine wins in a row between 1936 and 1947. If Australia loses, New Zealand could equal the record next week in Christchurch, the hometown of Australia's coach Robbie Deans.
The seven-match losing streak - despite leading five of the last six matches at half-time - equals the Wallabies of 1967-74 and 1995-97.
New Zealand lead this year's Tri-Nations with 10 points from its two bonus-point wins at home. Australia has four and South Africa has no points.
Teams:
Australia:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14. James O'Connor, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Berrick Barnes, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Matt Giteau, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (captain), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma'afu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16. Saia Faingaa, 17. James Slipper, 18. Rob Simmons, 19. Matt Hodgson, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Anthony Faingaa, 22. Kurtley Beale
New Zealand:
15. Mils Muliaina, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma'a Nonu, 11. Joe Rokocoko, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Jimmy Cowan, 8. Kieran Read, 7. Richie McCaw (captain), 6. Jerome Kaino, 5. Tom Donnelly, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Keven Mealamu, 1. Tony Woodcock
Substitutes: 16. Corey Flynn, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Sam Whitelock, 19. Victor Vito, 20. Piri Weepu, 21. Aaron Cruden, 22. Israel Dagg
McCaw said on Friday that he and the All Blacks squad visited the Docklands venue on Thursday and had little issue with the pitch that has been criticized by Australian Rules football players for being uneven and spongy in places.
"It's been a lot of talk about not much," McCaw said on Friday. "It's not the best I've played on but it's going to be ... good as gold."
McCaw compared the roofed stadium to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium - the venue where the All Blacks were upset 20-18 by France in the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals.
"Two big forward packs pushing the scrum may rip the ground up a bit but it will be fine," he said.
Elsom said on Friday "it looks a little better than Millennium Stadium normally does."
"And when we get there (for Tests against Wales) it's the middle of November ... it's pretty well mud painted green," Elsom added. "So it's a fair bit better (at Melbourne)."
Earlier in the week, both teams made two changes to winning line-ups.
The Wallabies, who beat South Africa 30-13 at Brisbane last Saturday, reinstated Matt Giteau at flyhalf in place of the suspended Quade Cooper. With Giteau moving in one spot, Berrick Barnes won a recall to the starting line-up at inside centre.
Cooper received a two-match suspension for a dangerous tackle in the South Africa match and his appeal against the ban was unsuccessful. He will also miss next weekend's match against the All Blacks in Christchurch.
The All Blacks named a fit Joe Rokocoko on the left wing in place of Rene Ranger and Jimmy Cowan at scrumhalf ahead of Piri Weepu.
Rokocoko missed the second of New Zealand's two Test wins over Tri-Nations champions South Africa with a hamstring injury but has won back his place in a starting XV boasting more than 700 Test caps.
He will make his 64th Test appearance, moving ahead of John Kirwan and Jonah Lomu as the All Blacks' most-capped winger. Prop Tony Woodcock will play his 66th Test, joining Greg Somerville as the most-capped All Blacks prop.
The All Blacks, led by McCaw and fullback Mils Muliaina who will both play their 86th Tests, have put together a team of extraordinary depth.
"We will need all our experience up against what is a very good Wallabies side," All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.
Nathan Sharpe will equal the record of World Cup-winning captain John Eales for most caps earned by a Wallabies lock when he makes his 84th Test appearance.
Australia will attempt to avoid losing its eighth consecutive Test against the All Blacks, its worst losing sequence since New Zealand had nine wins in a row between 1936 and 1947. If Australia loses, New Zealand could equal the record next week in Christchurch, the hometown of Australia's coach Robbie Deans.
The seven-match losing streak - despite leading five of the last six matches at half-time - equals the Wallabies of 1967-74 and 1995-97.
New Zealand lead this year's Tri-Nations with 10 points from its two bonus-point wins at home. Australia has four and South Africa has no points.
Teams:
Australia:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14. James O'Connor, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Berrick Barnes, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Matt Giteau, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (captain), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma'afu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16. Saia Faingaa, 17. James Slipper, 18. Rob Simmons, 19. Matt Hodgson, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Anthony Faingaa, 22. Kurtley Beale
New Zealand:
15. Mils Muliaina, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma'a Nonu, 11. Joe Rokocoko, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Jimmy Cowan, 8. Kieran Read, 7. Richie McCaw (captain), 6. Jerome Kaino, 5. Tom Donnelly, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Keven Mealamu, 1. Tony Woodcock
Substitutes: 16. Corey Flynn, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Sam Whitelock, 19. Victor Vito, 20. Piri Weepu, 21. Aaron Cruden, 22. Israel Dagg
