Australia give New Zealand's Ian Foster cause for concern

The Wallabies are on a seven-Test winning streak but have not claimed Bledisloe Cup glory since 2002.

Foster knows they will provide a threat to Steve Hansen's All Blacks, though, and he believes the Waratahs' progression into the Super Rugby final could be a factor.

"Clearly they have made some gains and they are a lot more comfortable with how they do things and I think the Waratahs' success is going to boost their confidence a little," Foster said.

"But we're also equally happy with where we are at. We're showing some signs.

"We finished June in a reasonably good spot probably similar to them in some ways so we are probably going to both go in pretty well prepared which is maybe a little bit different to 12 months ago."

Crusaders' Joe Moody has replaced Tony Woodcock in the All Blacks squad, with the latter sidelined for the start of the tournament with a shoulder injury.

But Foster backed New Zealand's replacements to fill the void.

"Tony has been very, very durable for us and clearly we are going to give him a little window to see if it does come right but it just represents another opportunity," he said.

"Underneath that it opens the door for a couple of guys who have worked really hard at Super Rugby and done really well. Kane [Hames] and Pauli [Manu] have done some really good stuff so it's just a chance for us to expose more guys so I think that is positive."