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LIVE MATCH CENTRE - New Zealand v Australia
By Jack Davies
New Zealand and Australia head to Japan this weekend for the third and final instalment of this year's Bledisloe Cup.
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The All Blacks triumphed comfortably in the opening two matches on their way to winning the Rugby Championship, leaving the Wallabies playing for pride in Yokohama.
New Zealand have lost just twice in their last 21 games against Australia (W17, D2), winning nine of their last 10 games against the Wallabies, including the most recent encounter at a neutral venue - 34-17 at Twickenham in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.
These sides have only met in Japan on one previous occasion, with the All Blacks prevailing 32-19 in 2009.
Australia endured a miserable Rugby Championship, finishing only a point off the bottom, and have won just three of their last 11 games (L8).
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The Wallabies will be well aware of the threat posed by Rieko Ioane, who has scored three more Test tries (10) than any other player in 2018.
The top try scorers for Australia this year are Will Genia and Dane Haylett-Petty with three each.
Israel Folau has scored just two tries in seven matches this year – in 2017, he scored 12 tries in just 10 matches.
Whatever the result, it promises to be a special day for Sekope Kepu, named among the replacements, who could become the ninth player to win 100 caps for Australia and the first prop to do so. He would be the 10th prop from any nation to reach this milestone.
Watch: Wallabies skipper Hooper on Kepu and how to beat the All Blacks
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Latest Comments
Let’s make them both Capt. I think we'd get the best of both of them and it would help alleviate some of the pressures of the role. They'd have to confer over on field decisions which should lead to “ learnings “ for both. They are our two best consistent performers.
Go to commentsForget what was said or how many players said it. TONY BROWN IS THE NEW ATTACK COACH. That’s the only story worth freaking out over. The springboks are going to grow their game an awful lot over the next cycle and it’s not just the 19 disgustingly arrogant Irish players who refused to shake Ebens hand and said “see you in the final if you can cheat your way past France” who will find that out first hand.
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