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London, Dec 4 NZPA - The carefree attitude of the Barbarians is the All Blacks' biggest danger at Twickenham, says captain Richie McCaw, as he demands the same high standards as in the tourists' big win over France. McCaw's second-stringers take on effectively a South Africa/Australia all stars side here tomorrow (3.30am NZT), under coach Nick Mallett in a potential banana skin match with their unbeaten tour record on the line. The All Blacks have played the Barbarians 10 times, for a solitary defeat in the famous 1973 match at Cardiff Arms Park. While that match featured the best of British, club commitments mean their opponents this week were drawn largely from their Sanzar partners, with 60-test All Black Joe Rokocoko, three Italians and three Welshmen thrown in. McCaw played for the Barbarians a year ago against the Wallabies who just scraped home 18-11 at Wembley. While several days' buildup was their obvious handicap, McCaw said the lack of pressure and the desire to beat the All Blacks saw such a team gel quickly. "It's nice going into a game where the result, from a Barbarians point of view, isn't the be-all and end-all, so you chance your arm and play when there's no pressure on," a relaxed McCaw said in his final pre-match press conference of a long season. "Sometimes you get the best out of guys when they're not inhibited at all. That was quite cool, it's still a big game but you're not quite so worried as you would be in a test." The Victor Matfield-captained Barbarians squad include nine South Africans and six Wallabies, with Australians Matt Giteau, Rocky Elsom, George Smith, Drew Mitchell, Stephen Moore and Will Genia no doubt coveting a win which has eluded them for the past seven trans-Tasman tests. McCaw rated last year's Barbarians match as one of the most physical he'd played, and predicted the forwards including imposing loose trio Elsom, Smith and Schalk Burger would get "stuck in". There was no lack of motivation for the All Blacks either, with most of the side having started only the Italy test in Milan three weeks ago. "The guys don't want to go out and make idiots of themselves. They want to play well and for a few of these guys it's an opportunity to show how good they are. "You're against some pretty good opposition and with selectors watching you want to leave a good impression as the summer comes... "I'm sure the guys will be focused. You know whether the guys are switched on, and you can see by the way they've trained this week that they're pretty keen to play." A similar performance to last week's 39-12 win over France would be ideal, McCaw said. The All Blacks' defensive record of not having conceded a try in their past eight northern hemisphere tests was also a source of pride. Asked if he would be willing to concede tries in pursuit of an entertaining match, McCaw said: "No - I'd rather that we're scoring the tries, and if we score plenty it'll still be entertaining, I reckon." The All Blacks hoped to maintain their structure and use their superior cohesion before trying to open the game up, McCaw said. A reported 62,000 tickets had been sold as of early today, with the All Blacks having played at full houses for all five tests on tour. The weather has been bone-chilling in London but a mainly fine afternoon was forecast for tomorrow with a maximum temperature of 11degC. NZPA SYD mg ljm
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