Mealamu wants his throw and lineout to be "on the ball"

All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu is relishing the prospect of another physical battle against uncompromising foes when he lines up against South Africa in Auckland tonight in the opening Investec Tri-Nations rugby test.

The All Blacks have waited 10 months for another shot at the Springboks since going down to their great rivals 3-0 in last year's tournament.

"It's never easy when you've had to sit here and we've lost to them the last couple of times," he said.

"We've been waiting for a long time to get back out there to play them."

Mealamu, who will be appearing in his 75th test, said the All Blacks were feeling in good shape heading in the Tri-Nations.

Their performances in their three June tests against Ireland and Wales were a step up from 12 months earlier, when they shared a series with France and then were scratchy in beating Italy.

He admitted that the scrum hadn't been as dominant against the Welsh as the All Blacks would have liked.

It was a work in progress, but he was confident that issues could be ironed out.

Meanwhile, the lineouts, an area in which the Springboks had developed ascendancy over the All Blacks, had improved from the last Tri-Nations and operated pretty well last month.

"I just think our lineout has come a long way and we're doing it really well," he said.

"We just have to make sure we do our job. That's pretty much what it comes down to -- everyone doing their job and making sure we are on the ball."

Springboks lock Victor Matfield, who has been a prime cause of the All Blacks' lineout woes with his ability to disrupt or steal their throws, said it was an area of the game South Africa took plenty of pride in.

"It's something we've worked really hard on and it's something we are very proud off," he said.

"Definitely we will go into the test trying to put them under pressure. Hopefully trying to getting one or two balls early in the test match can put them under pressure and make them think back about the past few games."

Asked about former New Zealand test lock Gary Whetton's view that the All Blacks should attack the Springboks' lineout more, Matfield said they had a tough decision to make.

"If they attack our lineout and they miss, we get an opportunity to have a good drive," he said.

"It's what they want to do. Do they want to stop our drive? Do they want to go for the contest? But then they might miss out on stopping our drive.

"Again, we need to play clever, they need to play clever. And you have to decide which one you are going for."