Focus on winning Rugby World Cup, not beating Australia, says coach Henry

The All Blacks are quietly focused ahead of their semi-final match against their Trans-Tasman rivals on Sunday.

Graham Henry, the New Zealand coach, rates the Rugby World Cup semi-final against Australia as the most important All Blacks match in a decade.

Millions of New Zealanders would call that an understatement. It may be moot, but many Kiwis argue that Sunday's semi-final at Eden Park, against their oldest and fiercest rivals, is the most important match the All Blacks have ever played, the peak of 482 Tests in the last 106 years.

The match draws importance from the fact that New Zealand have not won the Rugby World Cup since the first tournament was held here in 1987; from the succession of errors and upsets that have seen them fail in every tournament since; from the crushing disappointment of their quarter-final loss to France four years ago; and from the heightened expectation because the tournament is once again on home soil.

The team that stands between the All Blacks and the final is the one that New Zealanders most hate to lose to - Australia.

Henry, however, played down the rivalry. "We want to win this cup," he said. "It could be South Africa or England or whoever. It's a semi-final, you need to win it, and if you win next week you win a cup. Simple as that, really.

"It happens to be Australia. They're big brother to us in many ways because they're a country of 20 million, compared with 4.5 million and that is a positive relationship, I think. It brings the best out of New Zealanders."

Henry was asked about the mood in the All Blacks camp as the match approached and said it was hard to fathom but seemed calm.

"Sometimes you're wrong and that's what the frustrating thing is," he said. "There's no guarantee you can put your finger exactly on the right pulse.

"If you're not focused now you'll never be focused and I think there's a quiet focus there."