FULL-TIME, AUSTRALIA 7-38 NEW ZEALAND. What an incredible display from New Zealand, who literally wiped the floor with Australia. For their part Australia defended hard and attacked on a number of occasions with great vigour… but there is surely not a team alive that could have staved off such a display from New Zealand. Quite spectacular running rugby and incredible defending. They take the Bledisloe Cup and the Rugby Challenge today, and it would be a truly spiteful person would begrudge them either on this performance. Thanks for sharing the action with us, and enjoy the rest of your sporting weekend.

Australia run the lin as the hooter sounds, playing for pride… but they are blown for obstruction… Mu'onga wastes no time hoofing the penalty into touch and the All Blacks have taken the Bledisloe Cup and the Rugby Challenge.

A breather for Australia, as New Zealand are penalised inside the Aussie 22, and the clearance goes into touch just short of the 10m.

The All Blacks push hard on the Wallabies, driving them to their line… and twice the Wallabies fail to produce effective clearance kicks from inside their in-goal area as the All Blacks press and press…

New Zealand driving hard at the Wallabies, who seems to have a bit of renewed energy and are soaking up the tackles, yet keep getting pushed back.

CLOSE! Mu'onga chases down a ball into the Wallaby 22, his opponent goes to ground, lose the ball, the the New Zealand playmaker leaps to his feet, pockets the ball and slides over under the poles for… no, the TMO is having a look and he was judged to have shoved his opponent. That's not going to change the result but it will lessen the loss on the Aussie shoulders.

Both sides now attacking and defending superbly as the game opens up, with Australia throwing caution to the wind but not getting anything to show for it other them a glow of pride.

Great fightback from Australia, running hard and with passion and coming so close to scoring… the All Black defence now matching their attack. But great play from the visitors.

CONVERSION, NEW ZEALAND, MU'ONGA! 7-38; Mu'onga slides his conversion through the posts from wide on the right flank. Lovely kick again.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, IOANE! 7-36; Rieko Ioane dots down near the right corner flag… that's the simple explanation… the detail could run to pages! New Zealand quite simply ran the Wallabies ragged for two minutes, passing at pace and with the confidence of Harry Potter in book 7… running this way and that way… quite simply the most magical rugby you could see. It was the kind of try that deserved to be in the World Cup final and that would, dammit, be applauded wildly by fans and foes alike. Simply sensational from the All Blacks.

Mu'onga slides his conversion attempt just to the right, the kick coming from right on the right wing, so by no men's easy.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, TELEA! 7-31; Telea gets good ball and slides through into the corner to score.

All Blacks totally dominating play now as the life seems from drain from the Aussie bodies. The visitors push up again and into the Wallabies 22…

CONVERSION, NEW ZEALAND, MU'ONGA! 7-26; Superb kick straight as if drawn by a magnet from the left side of the field. Some superb kicking tonight from Mo'unga.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, CLARKE! 7-24; Caleb Clarke breaks from a maul close to the Aussie 5m line and dives through Aussies defenders and over the line for the score.

New Zealand win the ball and attack hard, driving into the 22 and through the 5m of the Wallabies…

A slightly scrappy passage of play by both sides, perhaps a bit of exhaustion creeping in as it has been played at a brutal pace and with no half-tackles.

NOOOO! Australia win their throw and drive hard for the line, but Australia are blown for dropping the ball near the line and New Zealand clear.

New Zealand's penalty clearance doesn't find touch and Australi fling the ball quickly from right to left, Koroibete making a powerful driving run towards the All Black 22 before he is brought down, and Australia kick the penalty to the New Zealand 5m…

Amazing driving and then running out to the left wing from Australia… but New Zealand somehow hold them up and hold them back. This New Zealand side is truly magical… but without showing any signs of magically disappearing!

Australia run the ball just short of the new Zealand 22, lose the ball backwards, recover and drive forward but are fouled and they win a penalty… and take the bold decision to kick for the corner. Four subs pour on for Australia as they look to make headlines from the throw almost on the All Black 5m…

Lovely play as New Zealand run their line at pace and drive up to the 10m, where they are bundled into touch.

Australia win the lineout on the All Black 5m, but New Zealand drive them back 10 metres and win the scrum.

Australia running the line and attacking hard, through the All Black 22…

Kick-off! The second half is underway…

HALF-TIME, AUSTRALIA 7-19 NEW ZEALAND. What a half of rugby! Bruising, battering… and packed full of skills. Great attacking at speed from New Zealand, and superb defence from the home side for most of the match. Australia have put up their hand superbly, running hard at New Zealand and causing them plenty of problems. For Australia's part you would have to say they would hold onto some hope to rein their lead in… but my oh my the All Blacks are looking fierce some… and that's also not a good sight in a World Cup year! We'll have the second half for you as soon as we've rounded up all the players and pushed them back towards the pitch.

CONVERSION, NEW ZEALAND, MO'UNGA! 7-19; Very nice kick from the right wing from Mo'unga, sliding the ball through the poles for a 12-point lead at half-time.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, JORDAN! 7-17; The All Blacks worked the ball out to the right wing, where Will Jordan took a step inside and soaked up two tackles as he crashed over the line for the score. Simply superb from the All Blacks… to be fair, the Aussie defence was superb but they simply couldn't hold them off any longer.

… but New Zealand charge back down on the Aussie line, forcing their way into the 22m… the hooter sounds but the All Blacks are driving hard still… they are through 14 phases…

New Zealand win the lineout and drive through the Aussie defence like a hot knife through butter, force their way to the line, but the Wallabies firm up and hold them short of the line… SO close for the All Blacks, but Australia get to clear with a kick from Gordon.

New Zealand drive hard and win a penalty, but Aussie skipper Alaalatoa is down with a serious leg problem and he's being stretchered off. Taniela Tupou comes on to replace him as one by one his team-mates come over to console him as it looks a serious injury, possibly an ACL which is not good in a World Cup year.

CONVERSION, NEW ZEALAND, MO’UNGA! 7-12; Lovely conversion from the left side from Mo’unga slices between the posts and the All Blacks are five points ahead.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, TAYLOR! 7-10; Great pressure from New Zealand and the maul drives over the line, allowing hooker Codie Taylor to dot down for the 5-pointer!

GREAT WORK from New Zealand, driving forward all the way into the Wallaby 22… forcing a lineout on the 5m, with the All Blacks to put it in. This is a serious red flag for 10-man Australia.

Scrum on the New Zealand 10m… Smith to feed for the All Blacks…

New Zealand win the ball in their half and run the ball quick and with confidence… but Australia get the ball from Barrett's clearing kick and the hosts are pounding the All Black defensive wall…

SMASH! Valetini breaks well as Smith fails to clear the ball from the back of the scrum quickly and smashes the All Black scrumhalf to the ground, winning a scrum.

Australia win the scrum and Gordon clears downfield, New Zealand with have the throw between the halfway line and the Wallaby 10m.

WOW! TMO claims no try as the ball didn't go forward, BUT Koroibete is yellow-carded for an infringement on the line and Australia have the scrum… but they also have a man down for 10 minutes!

… New Zealand with the ball in front of posts… they pass out left, driving hard at the line, but Australia hold them up through 10 phases… the referee blows for a penalty and a Telea grabs the ball and dives over for the try… but did he tap first? TMO will confirm…

… they're on the line, Australia fighting hard to hold them up, Smith drives hard at the line but is held up and Australia re blown up… and New Zealand have the throw on the 5m…

New Zealand drive forward now… down the left wing, and into the Wallaby 22… driving to the 5m…

Wallabies running the ball and break through the New Zealand halfway line, pas the 10m and keep driving… they're at the 22… and they're blown for an infringement in the loose. Poor way to end a great attacking move.

New Zealand blown up inside the Wallaby 22, and Gordon is allowed to clear, sending the ball 24m upfield for an Australian throw.

They now exchange kicks… but then Kerevi barges Barrett after the Kiwi kicked forward… and New Zealand have the lineout on the Wallaby 22…

Both sides take turns to attack and then counter-attack, driving hard and tackling hard.

Gordon has the chance to go for a long-range penalty but he misses and New Zealand will look to attack.

CONVERSION, AUSTRALIA, GORDON! 7-5; Gordon makes no mistake from right in front of poles.

TRY, AUSTRALIA, VALENTINI! 5-5; The ball went wide and was dotted down in the corner, but Koroibete's arm was out of touch JUST as he dotted down… but the TMO goes back and rules that Valentini did dot down under the poles… and the scores are LEVEL!

TRY, AUSTRALIA, VALENTINI! 5-5; The ball went wide and was dotted down in the corner, but Koroibete's arm was out of touch JUST as he dotted down… but the TMO goes back and rules that Valentini did dot down under the poles… and the scores are LEVEL!

After a sensational break through the All Black defence and deep into their half by Nawaqanitawase, Australia first looked to half dotted down under the posts, but the ref allowed play to continue… with some more excellent passing and running by the Wallabies…

The conversion from Mo'unga skews wide and the score remains 0-5.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, FRIZELL! 0-5; New Zealand force Australia back into their corner, Australia win the line out but Barrett smashes through to tackle McDermott, who loses the ball and Frizell pops up to dot down for an easy try. Great start New Zealand!

Both sides get some running in before a New Zealand handling error offers Australia the ball.

KICK-OFF! We're underway at the MCG, New Zealand kicking deep and Carter Gordon clearing well back upfield.

The referee for today is Wayne Barnes of England. He will be assisted by Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley, both of England. Our TMO will be a fourth Englishman, Tom Foley.

New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot. Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke.

Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 David Porecki, 1 Angus Bell. Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Izaia Perese.

It all looks quite daunting for the Wallabies, with New Zealand looking dead-certs to take the win and the Rugby Championship. But Mother Rugby sometimes has surprises in store for her children. We'll find out shortly with kick-off in just over an hour as I type.

A month later New Zealand beat Australia 38-21 at the Optus Stadium. In 2022 the teams met twice at Eden Park, the first match ending 39-37 in favour of the All Blacks, followed by a 40-14 thumping the following week.

In 2021 New Zealand beat Australia 33-25 at Eden Park, and this was followed by a 57-22 mauling a week later at the same venue.

The most staggering stat is that New Zealand have beaten Australia in the last five Tests they have played, and considering the recent form of both sides that seems unlikely to change.

Australia have won once – a 24-22 nail-biter at the Suncorp Stadium in 2020 – and the teams also played out a 16-16 draw in Wellington in 2020.

Recent form makes devastating news for Australia fans, with New Zealand having won eight of the last 10 Tests between the two sides since August 2019.

The two teams have met 175 times down the years, with eight clashes ending in a draw. Australia have won 45 times, while New Zealand have won a massive 122 of these matches.

Working in tandem with Savea at the back of the pack will be Dalton Papali’i, a rugged flanker who has been brought in to fill the openside duties. On a statistical note, lock Sam Whitelock is on the bench looking for his 144th cap, having been stuck on 143 for the past eight months.

New Zealand's robust No 8, Ardie Savea takes the captain's armband from the injured Sam Cane. It will be the fifth time he has captained the All Blacks.

The battle to dominate the scrum is going to be key to this clash, and Australia have brought in Angus Bell to replace James Slipper at loosehead prop. He joins hooker David Porecki and tighthead Allan Alaalatoa in the front row.

Australia will be holding thumbs that flyhalf Carter Gordon gets off to a flyer in his first start for his country and establishes a good understanding with Tate McDermott at scrumhalf. Gordon makes his debut in place of the veteran flyhalf Quade Cooper.

The referee for today is Wayne Barnes of England. He will be assisted by Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley, both of England. Our TMO will be a fourth Englishman, Tom Foley.

New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot. Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke.

Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 David Porecki, 1 Angus Bell. Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Izaia Perese.

The Wallabies would need a win at the MCG followed by a win at fortress Dunedin next month in order to snatch the Cup away from the All Blacks, but their form doesn't offer their fans much in the way of hope.

New Zealand's dominance this year has been mighty, while Australia have struggled, as they have in the Bledisloe Cup, which they last won back in 2002.

Today's Rugby Championship fixture is also the first Bledisloe Cup clash of the year… but all it will take the All Blacks is a win or a draw to take the Rugby Championship title.

Good morning, afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are on plant Rugby. Today we bring you another mighty clash between two great foes of the oval ball… it's Australia vs New Zealand, and we're bringing it to you live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.