All Blacks vs Australia – who is stronger?

The All Blacks and Australia are set to tackle one another in Sydney for the Rugby Championship opener and Bledisloe Cup, and both teams are packed full of confidence, but each for different reasons.

The All Blacks will be complacent with their current form in international rugby, defeating France three times with relative ease in the June tests and having a steady record since their loss to England in 2012.

The All Blacks will be at a slight tactical disadvantage without Dan Carter, but the talents and flair of Chiefs’ playmaker and Super Rugby winner Aaron Cruden will make the gap left by Carter seem negligible.

The rest of the squad is incredibly strong and there is some great experience in the backs and forwards. The return of Ritchie McCaw will be extremely inspirational for the team, as the test veteran will bring a huge degree of leadership throughout the encounter, but Sam Cane will be watching from the bench, eager to get on too.

The Wallabies hit a huge hurdle mid-year with the series loss to the British and Irish Lions, but a new coach in the form of Ewen McKenzie and some fresh faces should spark some motivation in the Wallabies.

The team features a number of changes from the side that took on and lost to the British and Irish Lions in June.

The question over flyhalf has been answered, with Matt Toomua getting the nod over Quade Cooper, and James O’Connor (who played at 10 in the Lions tests) moves to the wing.

Toomua should bring his hard-hitting and physical game to the forefront, and will once again go up against Cruden as he did in the Super Rugby final less than a month ago.

The loose trio of Ben Mowen, Michael Hooper, and Hugh McMeniman has significantly less experience than the All Blacks, but the fresh blood could prove to be a good thing for the Australians.

Rugby Informer’s take: the game should be tighter than previous encounters between the two sides, as a fresh attacking Wallaby mindset could challenge the AB’s defence, however, the class of the New Zealanders should keep them ahead throughout the duration of the match. All Blacks by 7.

Australia – 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 James O’Connor, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rod Simmons, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper
Substitutes: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Scott Fardy, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Tevita Kuridrani

All Blacks – 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Subs: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ryan Crotty.