All Blacks v Wallabies
Kick-off: 7.05pm Saturday 28 September (NZT)
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Live updates on RNZ Sport
The All Blacks are coming off a win but are also after an improved performance against the Wallabies this weekend. They head to a venue they haven't won at since 2018, with a narrative hanging over them around their inability to finish off test matches.
Scott Robertson has made a few changes to his side that beat the Wallabies 31-28 in Sydney, with this test being seen as a pretty important warm-up for the end of year tour next month. The Wallabies were admittedly very brave in their fightback last weekend so will be looking to hopefully avoid the slow start that saw them down 21-0 after only 15 minutes.
Here's a look at the teams:
All Blacks: 1 Ethan de Groot 2 Codie Taylor 3 Tyrel Lomax 4 Scott Barrett (c) 5 Tupou Vaa'i 6 Wallace Sititi 7 Sam Cane 8 Ardie Savea 9 TJ Perenara 10 Beauden Barrett 11 Caleb Clarke 12 Anton Lienert-Brown 13 Rieko Ioane 14 Sevu Reece 15 Will Jordan
Bench: 16 Asafo Aumua 17 Tamaiti Williams 18 Pasilio Tosi 19 Patrick Tuipulotu 20 Luke Jacobson 21 Cortez Ratima 22 Damian McKenzie 23 David Havili
Wallabies: 1 Angus Bell, 2 Matt Faessler 3 Taniela Tupou 4 Nick Frost 5 Jeremy Williams 6 Rob Valetini 7 Fraser McReight 8 Harry Wilson (c) 9 Jake Gordon (26 Tests) 10 Noah Lolesio 11 Dylan Pietsch 12 Hunter Paisami 13 Len Ikitau 14 Andrew Kellaway 15 Tom Wright
Bench: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa 17 Isaac Kailea 18 Allan Alaalatoa 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 20 Langi Gleeson 21 Tate McDermott 22 Ben Donaldson 23 Josh Flook
Beauden Barrett of New Zealand celebrates his try. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
All Blacks selections
The old Canes connection of Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara is reunited for this test, which will almost certainly be the last time we see them in a test match on New Zealand soil. Barrett's inclusion at 10 is interesting but not entirely unpredictable, given that Damian McKenzie has started every test this season, but DMac's demotion to the bench suggests this is more of a dropping than a rotation. Elsewhere, Anton Lienert-Brown comes in for the injured Jordie Barrett and David Havili gets the nod as the utility bench replacement. Sam Cane gets a start in his 100th test match.
Scott Robertson head coach of the All Blacks during the team announcement press conference. Photo: Lynne Cameron/ActionPress
Wallabies selections
Joe Schmidt has only made a couple of changes to last weekend, with Jake Gordon coming in as a straight swap for Nic White at halfback. They're not losing much there, but it does raise a question as to why Tate McDermott isn't getting a look in as starter. Dylan Pietsch - who was very good in his shift off the bench last weekend - comes in on the wing in place of the injured Marika Koroibete.
What they're saying
"These blokes know each other pretty well from Super Rugby, from tests over the years - albeit some of ours are only dipping their toe in for the first time really at this level, which has been pretty daunting for them and was particularly daunting at 21-0 down last weekend." - Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
"We have to front up tomorrow night, we want to finish strong. We've started games well but particularly that last quarter has let us down. It's not a small fix, it's a gradual one with habits coming in." - All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
Joe Schmidt, head coach of the Wallabies talks to James Slipper. Photo: Scott Barbour/www.photosport.nz
What happened last time
All Blacks 31 - 28 Wallabies
Last weekend's test was about the most obvious microcosm of the All Blacks' season thus far, with things going great for the first period of the game and then going off the rails later on. They did win, and the defensive effort deserves credit for keeping the Wallabies at bay despite being two men down at the back end of the game. However, the All Blacks should never have been in that position as the match deserved to be wrapped up on the hour mark.
What's going to happen
The Wellington Curse needs to be broken before NZ Rugby decides to stop playing test matches in the capital. The All Blacks haven't won there since 2018, which makes Sky Stadium easily the worst venue they've played at over a 10-year period. Amazing, really, considering it's a home venue.
Really, though, the All Blacks just need to keep the hammer down for the full 80 minutes and they should win this one running away. A big factor will be the officiating: the All Blacks have given up five yellow cards at the back end of games this year, so if they can keep their discipline that'll go a long way to winning the test match.