New Zealand centre Aaron Mauger insists he will be fit to face Australia on Saturday even though he is nursing a groin strain.

Mauger, revealed as a transfer target for Leicester Tigers this week, sat out training in Auckland as a precaution. But the Canterbury star expects to recover in time to play in the Tri Nations encounter.

He said: "I just went through a hole and went to step off my right foot and felt a bit of tweak in my groin and didn't want to carry on too much longer.

"The doctor said to pull the pin and hopefully it will be right. I didn't want to stir it up too much. I haven't had this injury for a while and, hopefully, I will be able to shake it off pretty quick."