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

Damian McKenzie has been left out of New Zealand’s starting side, with Beauden Barrett back after illness to start at fly half. Sam Cane wins his 100th cap for the All Blacks on the openside, with experienced scrum half TJ Perenara also handed a start in his final Test on home soil before departing for Japan at the end of the year. Anton Lienert-Brown is the beneficiary of Jordie Barrett’s knee injury in midfield.

New Zealand XV: 1 Ethan de Groot, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Tyrel Lomax; 4 Scott Barrett (capt.), 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.

Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Luke Jacobson; 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 David Havili.

Centre Jordie Barrett could be a doubt for New Zealand’s autumn Tests against England and Ireland after suffering a knee injury.

Barrett will miss the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship finale against Australia in Wellington today.

He was hurt during a 31-28 victory over the Wallabies last weekend, and New Zealand Rugby has confirmed a medial collateral ligament injury, adding that Barrett will be reassessed before the northern hemisphere tour.

New Zealand tackle England at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on November 2 before a Dublin appointment with Ireland six days later.

Barrett is due to link up with Leinster after the tour on a short-term deal.

It was announced in April that Barrett had exercised an option to play overseas after agreeing a new contract with New Zealand Rugby that will run beyond the 2027 World Cup.

All Blacks flanker Sam Cane has enjoyed many a ferocious battle with the Springboks over his 12-year international career but he also recalled a memorable act of kindness from the South Africans in the lead-up to his 100th test.

The former New Zealand captain will reach the milestone against Australia on Saturday, having enjoyed an unlikely extension to his test career despite moving to Japanese club rugby in the wake of last year’s World Cup.

Cane was sent off as New Zealand lost to South Africa in the final of that tournament in France, one of a series of setbacks he has endured during his career.

Another was a serious neck injury he suffered against the Springboks in Pretoria in 2018 and the response of South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus as well as a couple of players has clearly stayed with him.

“The day after I had surgery and Rassie, Francois Louw and Jesse Kriel, all on separate occasions, made the visit to the hospital,” the 32-year-old said.

“But the truth is, I was in such a dazed state post-surgery that unfortunately I can only remember dribs and drabs of the conversation and their presence.

“It speaks volumes of all three of those men to take time out of their day to come to the hospital and find me. It’s something I will never forget and I’m hugely appreciative of it.”

New Zealand secured custody of the Bledisloe Cup for another year with their 31-28 win over the Wallabies in Sydney last week but Australia’s fightback to within three points exposed their struggles to close out games this year.

Their bid for a 21st Rugby Championship title might still be alive had they managed to defend a 27-17 lead with 11 minutes to go in the first of their two recent losses to world champions South Africa.

Once famous for their ability to score late to win close contests, the All Blacks have not put a single point on the board in the last 20 minutes of any of their five tests in the tournament this season.

“We’ve talked about the accuracy and the discipline and the experience of the group that are coming on (from the bench),” coach Scott Robertson said after naming his team on Thursday.

“At the end of the day, you just focus on what you need to do ... focus on solutions around it, we train it and get on with it.”

Harry Wilson was a surprise choice as Wallabies skipper but the big loose forward feels he is growing into the role as he prepares to lead Australia out for the fourth time in Wellington on Saturday.

The Australia captaincy has been a revolving door over the last two seasons with Eddie Jones naming six skippers in 2023 and Joe Schmidt four in eight tests so far in the 2024 campaign.

Number eight Wilson was first handed the captaincy for the Rugby Championship win over Argentina in La Plata and also led the team in their record 67-27 loss to the Pumas a week later.

A similar drubbing looked on the cards when the All Blacks scored three tries in the first 16 minutes of last week’s Sydney clash but a second-half revival saw the Wallabies almost pull off a stunning win.

The nature of that 31-28 defeat has given Australia some confidence that they can beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time since 2001 in the return match.

Wilson said he was becoming more comfortable in the captaincy game-by-game, even if he leaves the passionate team talks to more experienced players in the leadership group.

“I’m not the biggest talker in the team,” the amiable 24-year-old told reporters on Friday.

“There’s a lot of boys who I lean on there, I guess I talk a bit more before kickoff and just make sure we go out there and nail our role.

“I just want to lead by example on the field and I feel as if that’s what any captain should do. I need to go out there and perform.”

Australia and New Zealand are out of the chase for the Rugby Championship crown, which will be decided later on Saturday when the Springboks host Argentina in Mbombela. Here are the permutations you need to know.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of the final day of the 2024 Rugby Championship. We begin in Wellington with the second of back-to-back Bledisloe Cup clashes between New Zealand and Australia - the trans-Tasman trophy will remain in All Black hands after Scott Robertson’s side survived a thrilling comeback from the hosts in Sydney.

But their superb second-half performance showed the fighting qualities that the Wallabies still possess, and they’ll be out to showcase their quality again. Kick off in Wellington is at 8.05am BST.