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Tri-Nations Series New Zealand vs Australia, 8:35pm

Southern-Hemisphere rivals New Zealand and Australia will lock horns on Saturday 21st July in a match which will decide the Tri-Nations Cup.

New Zealand defeated South Africa 33-6 on the 14th of July to set up Saturday's match as one of the most important in recent times. Both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup are up for grabs after the Ozzies shocked New Zealand 20-15 in Melbourne last month.

Both teams stand on 9 points in the Tri-Nations tournament, winning two games and losing one, leaving South Africa stranded at the bottom of the table.

The prospect of claiming both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup will leave both side eager for victory, further fuelling a long-standing rivalry between the two nations. Wallabies coach John Connolly has ranked the match alongside the World Cup finals and, as a result, for a number of players it could be the biggest match of their career.

New Zealand have made three changes in their preparation for the match, Scrum-half Kelleher coming in for Piri Weepu, Collins taking over from Reuben Thorne at blind-side flanker and Oliver replacing Keven Mealamu at hooker.

The atmosphere at Eden Park in Auckland is set to be electric as these two heavy-weights will battle it out to assert their dominance on southern-hemisphere rugby.