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Wallabies star Kerevi believes red-hot All Blacks are 'beatable'

Kerevi wants Australia to put their poor run of form behind them
Kerevi wants Australia to put their poor run of form behind themAFP
Game-breaking back Samu Kerevi says Australia's winless start to the year has been "unacceptable", but he believes they can defy history by upsetting New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.

The All Blacks crushed the Wallabies 38-7 in Melbourne last week to retain the Bledisloe Cup and will again start as firm favourites for the second Test, where they can extend a remarkable home record against Australia.

The Wallabies last beat the All Blacks on New Zealand soil in 2001 - in Dunedin during Eddie Jones' first stint as head coach - but have failed to taste success in the 28 Tests since, a period marked by numerous heavy defeats.

While the All Blacks have defended their Rugby Championship crown in resounding fashion, Jones' second tenure in charge of Australia began disastrously, losing all three Tests to South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand, conceding 16 tries in the process.

Injuries are also hampering the Wallabies, and scrum-half Tate McDermott has been promoted to the captaincy for the first time, but Kerevi is quashing the suggestion a respectable performance is the best the visitors can hope for this week.

"We believe they're beatable. They're a class side and a great team but we believe in our game plan, we believe in the squad and the talent that we have," said the Japan-based midfield back, who contended his side had the measure of the All Blacks for large patches of play last week.

"We did really well on those first 20 minutes, the first 30 minutes and even in the second half, coming out of the blocks.

"We need to lengthen that out to 80-minute performance. We'll just have to play our best game and not let too much pressure off.

"We understand it's unacceptable to get those results...we've been hard on each other."

While Jones has made three starting changes, all to his forward pack, All Blacks counterpart Ian Foster has introduced 12 changes, prompting some commentators to label it a second-string New Zealand side.

Kerevi rejected that notion, believing the home side will be highly motivated to perform ahead of the Monday announcement of their World Cup squad.

All Blacks captain Sam Cane said the looming announcement of New Zealand's World Cup squad on Monday will ensure his players don't drop their standards.

"A lot of these guys who are playing tomorrow night have been chomping at the bit and have been training extremely well for the last month or so," he said.

"Australia are desperate, and we know that, but we’re also desperate to put out another really good performance."

Cane, recovered from a neck ailment that ruled him out of the Melbourne Test, believes the All Blacks still have areas of their game to improve, five weeks out from their Rugby World Cup opening game against hosts France.

"We know that where we're at right now is not going to be good enough later in the year," he said.

"Every time you get a chance to take the field as a team, you get a chance to get better and hopefully get to where we want to get to."

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