At a media gathering in Cape Town on Friday, All Black coach Graham Henry and captain Richie McCaw delivered some final thoughts going into Saturday's "pivotal Test match" against the Springboks.

With just over a day to go before one of the most anticipated spectacles in world rugby, McCaw felt confident that his All Black side had prepared adequately and were rearing to go against the Boks in their Tri-Nations clash at Newlands, after a lengthy build-up period.

"We've got all our preparation done, and the guys are just excited to get out and play this Test," said McCaw.

"I think we've had an extra day here and we never played the week before so we've been thinking about this Test for longer than usual.

"So by Wednesday it felt like the week was going pretty slow. You can only train for only so much, really, and the guys are ready to go — and looking forward to it," he added.

Going by the predictably damp conditions which could be expected at Newlands, the set phases could be a deciding factor in the possession stakes, as Henry touched on the irrelevance of the Boks' seemingly limited experience up front.

"I don't think it (inexperience in the front row) is going to be a major factor in this Test match," said Henry.

"The Springboks have always been good scrummagers. I'm impressed with their talent... with what they did in their scrumming against Argentina. I think they'll take a lot of confidence from that match (against Argentina) as a scrumming unit."

With New Zealand's scrumming tactics being a bone of contention amongst Springbok management in recent weeks, Henry commented earlier this week about the need for both sides to tow the line with regards to 'ethical' scrumming techniques.

"It's always a big contest at scrum-time (with the Boks). Let's just hope the front rows scrum square and push straight, with heads above hips," Henry smirked.

"If we can get that right then we'll have a decent scrum and a good game. When players start pushing on angles it makes it very dangerous and I guess ruins the scrum," he added.

Pundits have of course also placed emphasis on the line-out — an area which the All Blacks dominated a fortnight ago against Australia in Auckland, though confessed they're potentially facing the best line-out in world rugby this weekend.

"The Australians only had two line-out jumpers which helped our fellas," Henry admitted.

"But we realise that we are playing against the best line-out in the world on Saturday. Obviously we have to start again... start from scratch."

Not only has South Africa been labelled as having the best line-out in the world, they're also revered as being one of the most physical sides, though it appears the All Blacks are more than ready to meet that challenge.

"The whole game will be pretty physical to be honest, it's always what you expect when you play the Springboks," said McCaw.

"That is the way it is and we enjoy that. Regardless of what the score is, after the game, everyone is usually pretty sore.

"But it never hurts as much when you win," McCaw added.