Richie McCaw says it is time for New Zealand to "take a step up" when they face Georgia at the Rugby World Cup on Friday.
The defending champions have already beaten Argentina and Namibia and look a safe bet to top Pool C at a canter.
But captain McCaw, who returns as one of 10 changes to coach Steve Hansen's starting XV, believes there has been a rustiness to New Zealand's play so far.
And the 144-capped veteran - who skippered his country to World Cup glory on home soil four years ago - is keen for a more coherent showing when New Zealand go head-to-head with Georgia for the first time in Test rugby.
"Performance-wise, we need to take a step up. We have all had a run in the first two games so there are no excuses for not being ready to go," he said ahead of clash at the Millennium Stadium.
"There has been a bit of an edge this week in terms of putting right the things that were a little bit off in those opening two games. If we get them right we will hopefully get a good performance.
"When you haven't played for a while there is always a bit if rustiness. You don't like to use it as an excuse but I think that was what let us down last week against Namibia.
"The guys were trying hard but were making some crucial mistakes. You can't afford to let that happen."
Georgia coach Milton Haig has made 10 changes of his own for the fixture against the country of his birth.
Haig had named the same side for their 17-10 win over Tonga and the 54-9 defeat to Argentina.
But the New Zealander says that resting key personnel is a must for Georgia, with their final pool match against Namibia potentially crucial in their bid for third-place that would guarantee qualification for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
"We've been pretty vocal about what our ultimate goal is at this tournament," Haig said.
"We've got five days after the All Blacks game before we play Namibia which is very important to achieve our goal of qualifying for 2019, so it's a necessary evil that our focus is on the Namibia game.
"There's a few disappointed guys obviously, but we said three or four months ago that we all have a common goal and everybody agreed to this."