Australia have been determined not to give New Zealand any extra motivation ahead of their Sydney clash this week and Drew Mitchell was never likely to go against that trend on Friday.
Australia coaches over the last three seasons have been upbeat about their chances of beating the All Blacks and wresting back the Bledisloe Cup, Michael Cheika has been keen to claim the status of underdog this week.
This time, the focus is on what Australia are building for themselves.
A victory in the Rugby Championship decider on Saturday would give Australia a chance of ending a 13-year Bledisloe Cup drought in Auckland a week later. But it has not been a focus of discussion in the camp.
"It's a record we're not particularly proud of but for this group it's about forging something for ourselves," winger Mitchell told reporters.
"We haven't done anything yet and it's one step on a pretty long journey for us. The aim is to go out there and beat New Zealand tomorrow night (10.30am Irish time) and then obviously reassess and go out there again next week.
“But in terms of a sole motivation for this game, it hasn't really come up. We just want to go out and play our brand of footie and see where it leaves us after this game."
Part of Cheika's plan to restore Australia to the top echelon of rugby in time for the World Cup has involved changing the eligibility rules to allow the likes of Mitchell and his Toulon team mate Matt Giteau back into the test fold.
Both have been included in the starting side for Cheika's first match in charge against the All Blacks, bringing 157 caps of experience into the backline.
Mitchell played most of his 64 tests under New Zealander Robbie Deans and said the environment was "fairly different" under Cheika.
"Cheik brings an element of old school, but he's in touch with some of the more modern trends in rugby and is able to forge that into our own style," the 31-year-old said.
"He's very big on understanding players individually but also us as a group and how to get the best out of us.
"We're really only tapping the surface at the moment because we've only been together a short amount of time but as we spend more time together we'll get a bit more out of it."
Mitchell has scored 30 test tries, a tally matched by his opposite number on Saturday, Julian Savea, in just 33 games.
Debutant All Blacks right winger Nehe Milner-Scudder is likely to be of more immediate concern to Mitchell at the Olympic Stadium, however.
"I've been really impressed with him, he's obviously good with his feet, he's a genuine threat. Not only out wide but when he comes in and gets involved," said Mitchell.
"You don't want to give Savea too much space, you don't want to give Scudder too much space. We've got to stick to our roles defensively and close them down fast."
