Mal Meninga will spend day one of his first official camp as Kangaroos coach trying to reignite passion in the green and gold jumper.

With just five days to prepare for the annual mid-year Test against world No.1 New Zealand in Newcastle, Meninga will spend the majority of it talking about the importance of representing their country.

“It’s a matter of having a bit of a chat about it, seeing how they feel about it all, just obviously get an indication of how they feel about being selected in this Australian side,” Meninga said.

“It’s all around performance, isn’t it? We’ll have a good week of preparation, albeit short, and all those things, the passion, the commitment, the attitude will come out in the performance on Friday night.”

While Meninga conceded the Kiwis deserved to hold the number one mantle, he questioned whether the current rankings were a genuine indication of the balance of global power in rugby league.

Australia currently sit second with England, who claimed a 2-1 series win over the Kiwis late last year, in third.

Samoa are in fourth ahead of Saturday’s Test against Tonga.

Meninga predicted the upcoming Four Nations tournament at the end of this NRL season would see the cream of international football rise to the top.

“On the back of England beating the Kiwis last year, I think the Kiwis were very tired, flat, and some of their key players out,” Meninga said.

“I don’t think it’s a true reflection of everything sits, but the Four Nations will be a really good event because all three teams I think will be very competitive against each other,” he said.