Clash of the wounded titans

Only Australians and Kiwis will be interested in next Saturdays game, as South Africans will smugly tell you that we are unbeaten in three games and should we continue in this fashion then the outcome of next Saturdays game will be of no importance.

As a Springbok supporter, if I happen to miss watching Saturdays game I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it. As a rugby fanatic, next Saturdays Tri Nations match was allocated it's time slot in my diary months ago.

Australia versus New Zealand in a Tri Nations match is always a biggy - this one no different. In fact next Saturdays match is probably more interesting than many of the past trans-Tasman battles. New Zealand are in a place that they haven't been in a long time, knocked off their podium. New Zealand are known to be the best team in the world in non-world cup years, but two years after the world cup they are not the all-conquering rugby powerhouse that we have been used to.

Australia have arguably the best coach that ever coached in Super Rugby history. While rugby union isn't Australia's no.1 sport , Robbie Deans has an uncanny knack of unearthing some gems. While news from both camps are contrasting with Stirling Mortlock out for the remainder of the series and Dan Carter back in the mix, we should still be in for a mighty clash.

Both teams have forward packs looking for dominance and backlines that haven't been allowed to gel in the Tri Nations games so far. Both teams will be looking to make a statement and this will be a difficult one to predict.

Lots of good match ups are on the cards with Richie McCaw and George Smith going head to head and the potential Giteau vs Carter battle seemingly mouth watering. While it is too difficult to predict a winner, a home win for the Wallabies is a result I am inclined to go with. Either way I am not too concerned with who wins, but I am looking forward to a great rugby game.