New Zealand v Australia LIVE: Result and reaction after All Blacks finish Rugby Championship with impressive win

A competent first take in the air from Tom Wright as TJ Perenara tests the Australia backfield with a high box kick. The Wallabies look to play on halfway, Rob Valetini coralled by Sam Cane...oh no! Taniela Tupou is down and in severe discomfort inside a minute!

The Australia prop looks to have done his knee. On rush a couple of medics.

Here we go. The Bledisloe Cup will be staying in New Zealand’s hands for another year but Australia have genuine belief they can upset the All Blacks at a ground where the hosts have a horrible recent record.

The penultimate match of the 2024 Rugby Championship is underway!

Two very pleasant anthems, and time for the Haka. It’s led by TJ Perenara for the final time on home soil, the scrum half at a ground he has called home at provincial and Super Rugby level for nearly 15 years. He gives it typical gusto as he and the rest of the All Blacks lay the challenge down.

Leading the All Blacks out on cap number 100 is Sam Cane, welcomed with a grand reception. He’s the 13th New Zealand player to bring up a ton - his Test career may be nearing an end but what a servant the flanker has been.

Harry Wilson leads the Wallabies out. We’re pretty used to seeing empty seats at the capacious Sky Stadium, with the Wellington public not necessarily the most ardent of All Black fans, but the place is sold out tonight and (aside from a few latecomers) already nearly full to the rafters.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)

ARs: Karl Dickson (Eng) & Damian Schneider (Arg)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)

Wallace Sititi has been the find of New Zealand’s season so far, the Chiefs youngster providing real lineout excellence and graft around the park. The springy Sititi put all sorts of pressure on the Wallabies’ throw and was also very impressive against South Africa earlier in the Rugby Championship. How Scott Robertson reshapes his back row once Sam Cane departs at the end of the year will be intriguing - Dalton Papali’i could come back in on the openside, but Sititi looks certain to stay part of the trio alongside Ardie Savea.

He is in direct head-to-head with one of Australia’s best and brightest throughout the rollercoaster of the last couple of years. Rob Valetini seldom takes a backward step, and there is a sense he has been somewhat underrated amid the doom and gloom surrounding Australian rugby. Their battle could be fun today.

Joe Schmidt was not buying into any great feeling of optimism after his Wallabies team fought their way back from 21-0 down to give the All Blacks a fright last week.

The 31-28 defeat ended Australian hopes of wresting back the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks and, combined with Fiji’s later win over Japan in Osaka, saw the Wallabies drop to 10th in the world rankings.

New Zealander Schmidt was asked in his press conference whether Australia’s rally to within four points of a shock win had left his glass half full, or half empty.

“There’s not a lot of water in the glass,” he quipped. “You know, you lose a Test match. So for us there’s things that we’ve got to learn from. We can’t finish a close second.

“There’s some things to be proud about around building our way back into the game. But giving a New Zealand side a start like that, it’s too tough to overcome that, albeit that almost did happen at the finish.”

Beauden Barrett was a late scratch from the All Blacks side in Sydney after falling unwell, but the veteran playmaker is back and re-taking the fly half shirt this week with Damian McKenzie left out for the first time under Scott Robertson.

“We were always planning to give Beauden a go,” head coach Robertson explained this week. “We’ve got to give guys opportunities and build depth in our team and it’s a nice chance for Beauden to play outside TJ, they’ve got a combination, they’ve played a lot of games together so it lines up nicely.

“(Beauden)’s a great conductor. He’ll get you around the field. Obviously, the boot’s been impeccable over his career, and he needs to own this opportunity and put a bit of heat on us to make sure that we’ve got two world class 10s.”

Wing Marika Koroibete is ruled out with a wrist issue for the Wallabies as Joe Schmidt hands Dylan Pietsch a start in the back three. Jake Gordon takes the place of scrum half Nic White but Schmidt keeps continuity in the forwards, naming an unchanged starting pack for the first time in his tenure.

Australia XV: 1 Angus Bell, 2 Matt Faessler, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Nick Frost, 5 Jeremy Williams; 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (capt.); 9 Jake Gordon, 10 Noah Lolesio; 11 Dylan Pietsch, 12 Hunter Paisami, 13 Len Ikitau, 14 Andrew Kellaway; 15 Tom Wright

Replacements: 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.