All Blacks coach Ian Foster admits his side need to become better at finishing off rivals - especially Aussies - when they're down for the count.
That call comes as the NZ men prepare to face Australia for the third consecutive test, with the Bledisloe Cup already safely tucked away for another year.
While their encounter at Perth on Sunday cannot affect the annual trans-Tasman series, it does count towards the Rugby Championship, which also includes world champions South Africa and Argentina.
Their 57-22 victory over the Wallabies at Auckland last month gave the All Blacks a solid start to that campaign, but failure to sweep the Aussies would put them on the back foot, with the Springboks already winning twice over the Pumas.
"It's certainly mentioned," concedes Foster. "It's something we haven't been very good at.
"If you look at the last 10 years, we've only clean-sweeped three times, so it's obviously a little bit harder than everyone thinks, because we haven't done it that often.
"It has revealed that, subconsciously, we don't switch well from a Bledisloe Cup series to a Rugby Championship series. The fact it's a challenge that we haven't done a lot in the past is important to us and it's something we want to achieve."
Last year, the All Blacks faced their rivals four times in succession, sealing the series with a draw and two victories by the time they reached Brisbane, where they duly lost 24-22.
But Foster casts his mind back even further for examples of them dropping games unnecessarily.
"Being surrounded by talk of 'dead rubbers' and 'third Bledisloes' and all those sort of words, when you've already got the Cup in the trophy cabinet, can lull you into a false sense of security," he says.
"I think the biggest thing for us is getting really excited about turning to the Rugby Championship - we don't want to have excuses. Saying it's a dead rubber and giving yourself an out before you get on the park is not a good way to prepare for a test match.
"We've had to be up front. It's been a very interesting preparation time for this one, but it's a Rugby Championship game that we need to nail to position ourselves the way we want to be, and we've been pretty black and white about that."
Veteran lock Brodie Retallick, named as Ardie Savea's vice captain for this series, agrees this foot-to-the-throat mentality is a work-on for the All Blacks.
"We put so much emphasis on winning the Bledisloe Cup and you only need to do that twice," he says. "When you do win it, you mentally slip or relax a little bit, because you've achieved the goal.
"To go out there and do a clean sweep hasn't been done that many times in the last 10 years, so its a challenge for this team this week.
"This is also the first time this team will play five test matches in a row since I've been here, so winning any match will be massively important towards our goal of winning the Rugby Championship as well."
Of course, there's also a matter of silencing the chirpy Aussies - and their coach - over the All Blacks' late arrival in Perth, forced on them by New Zealand's sudden COVID-19 lockdown and uncertainty over quarantine protocols in Western Australia.
Wallabies (and former Chiefs) coach Dave Rennie barely masked his disgust at the decision.
"It's disappointing how it's been communicated," he said. "Our boys all found out through social media.
"NZ Rugby didn't even have the respect to consult RA [Rugby Australia] about their decision, so that's hugely disappointing. I'm not sure shocked is the right word, because I'm not surprised.
"I just feel there's only one of us who are interested in doing what's best for the game. We've all made sacrifices to ensure that the games are played for the financial benefit of everyone and the good of the game."
Foster denies those barbs will pop up in the pre-game pep talks.
"I've never been a great believer in getting wound up by what someone else says, but we're cognisant that he said we weren't committed and I'm just reassuring everyone we are, 100 percent."
Join us at 6pm Sunday for live updates of the third All Blacks v Australia Bledisloe Cup test
