November 7 at 7.45 pm – Suncorp Stadium, Queensland
Last weekend, the All Blacks secured the Bledisloe Cup for the 18th consecutive time courtesy of a dominant 43-5 win. It was a disappointing evening for the Australians, who had reason to feel some semblance of confidence after returning for their home leg of the four-game series with one loss and one draw. After a massive build-up, the game was over almost as soon as it started, and the Kiwis stamped their authority on the game from the outset with four tries in the first half an hour.
As a result, this weekend’s game – which would have been the decider had last week’s game gone the other way – is a dead rubber, at least as far as the Bledisloe Cup is concerned. It is, however, still just the second game of the Rugby Championship, and if Australia is to stop the All Blacks running away with the tournament they will need to find a way to turn things around on Saturday night. It certainly doesn’t shape up as an easy task and the Kiwis are fairly short in the betting odds for a reason, but in front of a home crowd in Queensland, can the Wallabies find a way to keep themselves in the tournament?