Grant Shimmin in Wellington
For the neutral, the Tri-Nations could scarcely be finishing on a more exciting note, with a winner-take-all clash at the scene of one of the great encounters in modern Test rugby.
Last year Sydney’s Stadium Australia was preparing to host the Olympic Games when the All Blacks and Wallabies opened their Tri-Nations campaigns in front of nearly 110000 people.
Three early tries saw the visitors out to a 24-0 lead, but the world champions clawed back to parity, only for a late Jonah Lomu try to win it 39-35 for the All Blacks.
If this weekend’s decider is half as good, it will be an utterly compelling spectacle, and a shot in the arm for rugby in general.
It’s a tall order, but the incentive is there for both sides. All Blacks coach Wayne Smith, who may well feel doubts about the extension of his two-year tenure at year-end if his troops fail, has gone a little sensitive and whiny this week, accusing the New Zealand public of not showing enough appreciation when his team beats anyone but the Wallabies. Victories against countries like South Africa and France are greeted with a “so you bloody well should” attitude, as one newspaper put it.
Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Kiwis will accept nothing less than being the best in world rugby, nor to work out who the best are, so maybe Smith should put two and two together. Perhaps, though, he’s using a bit of reverse psychology on the team in the hope that they’ll reverse the result in Dunedin three weeks ago.
For the Australians, who have already retained the Bledisloe Cup, their Tri-Nations crown is at stake, but more than that, they are bidding farewell to one of the greats of world rugby. If playing to pay tribute to John Eales is not enough incentive, then there simply isn’t enough.
In the build-up to the game this week, much attention has focused on the Australian plan to mount a counter-warcry to the All Blacks’ haka, to be known as the Ocker.
Personally, I feel it would be something of an affront and not entirely in the spirit of the game.