The winner of the match in Sydney on Saturday, between Australia and New Zealand, will be a double winner.
The winner will claim SANZAR's Rugby Championship - the old Tri-Nations plus Argentina - and take a step closer to winning the Bledisloe Cup.
Unsurprisingly, the All Blacks hold the Bledisloe Cup and the Rugby Championship.
A victory for Australia would put them in line to snatch both titles.
They could do it, but it would not be easy and would be regarded as a surprise.
The All Blacks give nothing away on the field, they will not gladly divest themselves of these two titles, and they have a great team, playing great rugby, to ward off any threat.
A Wallaby victory would be something of a miracle and fill the rest of the world with awe. Possible? Of course, it's possible.
Anybody who was at Twickenham for the World Cup semifinal in 1999, when France were 10-24 down and came back to beat New Zealand, knows that it is possible.
Since then, anybody who predicts an outcomes knows he is on shaky ground.
First of all, the Australians are by nature resilient and competitive. Secondly they have the skill of men like Israel Folau and Matt Giteau. Thirdly they have rugged and unyielding individuals such as Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, David Pocock, Michael Hooper and their front row, which must be the best that Australia has had in living memory. And there is experience enough in Drew Mitchell, Ashley-Cooper and Giteau.
That is all very well till you look at the All Blacks with eyes filled with wonder. Look from fullback to scrumhalf and shake your head in amazement. It's hard to pick a better backline from the rest of the world.
It's odd to think that the Wallabies best bet may be in the pack, especially in those loose forwards - youthful, fearless Pocock and Hooper against veteran Richie McCaw for the loose ball. Of course, McCaw, scrums apart, may get a lot of help from Dane Coles, the lively hooker.
But at the tackle he may not get immediate help from Kieran Read on the overlap or even Jerome Kaino, who is forceful rather than subtle.
Clearly the All Blacks want a powerful flank - Liam Messam last time and Kaino this time.
Mind you, the Wallabies have their strong man in Scott Fardy, who offers more in the line-outs and in speed about the field.
That's post-tackle ball. What about first-phase ball. The Wallaby scrum - dare we say it in more than a low whisper - may just have the beating of the All Black scrum. They stood up better to the first-choice Springboks than the All Blacks did.
Line-outs? Surely the All Blacks have a distinct edge there with an array of jumpers. Mind you, chubby Cheika may have made plans.
The kicking game? But will they kick much and in any case both sides have judicious kickers who want more out of their kicking than transferring possession.
Goal-kicking? In both sides the flyhalf is the designated kicker with bench back-up in Nic White and Beauden Barrett. But Daniel Carter (much more experienced) and Bernard Foley.
Both sides have the ability to score exciting tries and if they get on the run with their usual speed, straightness and quick passing, this could just be the most exciting match of the year.
Players to watch:
For Australia: Certainly the skill of Israel Folau and the determination of David Pocock at the breakdown.
For New Zealand: Kieran Read, Richie McCaw, Brodie Retallick and the whole New Zealand backline. One would certainly have an eye on elusive, energetic Nehe Milner-Skudder.
Head to Head: Front row versus front row: Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Sekope Sio of Australia versus Tony Woodcock, Dane Coles and Owen Franks of New Zealand. David Pocock versus Richie McCaw at the tackle especially. Bernard Foley versus Dan Carter at flyhalf. Loquacious Nick Phipps versus Aaron Smith.
Recent Results
2014: New Zealand won 29-28, Brisbane
2014: New Zealand won 51-10, Auckland
2014: New Zealand and Australia drew 12-all, Sydney
2013: New Zealand won 41-33, Dunedin
2013: New Zealand won 27-16, Wellington
2013: New Zealand won 47 29, Sydney
2012: New Zealand and Australia drew 18-all, Brisbane
2012: New Zealand won 22-0, Auckland
2012: New Zealand won 27-19, Sydney
2011: New Zealand won 20-6, Auckland
2011: Australia won 25-20, Brisbane
2011: New Zealand won 30-14, Auckland
Prediction: Bearing in mind that predicting is an imprecise science and often makes fools of the predictor, we predict an New Zealand victory by more than 10 points. Both of them had late and narrow victories over the Springboks, the Wallabies at home, the All Blacks in Johannesburg.
Teams
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, (captain), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Luke Romano, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.
Date: Saturday, August 8
Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 20.05 (22.05 New Zealand time; 10.05 GMT)
Expected weather: Sunny with a high of 17°C, dropping to 8°C
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
By Paul Dobson
@rugby365com
Captain18,570 posts
08 Aug 2015, 08:49
#1
08 Aug 2015, 08:49#1
