Australia coach Michael Cheika says Australia must “do something special” to beat New Zealand in next Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final.
New Zealand and Australia will meet in a World Cup final for the third time this year when the All Blacks face off against the Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup decider at Twickenham on Sunday.
The two fierce rivals will meet in the Rugby World Cup final for the first time, after both countries also contested the cricket and netball World Cup decider's earlier in the year.
Kiwi fans are hoping it's a case of third time lucky for the team in black, after New Zealand finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the other two tournament finals against the green and gold, which were both played on Australian soil.
2015 cricket World Cup final: Australia defeat NZ. 2015 netball World Cup final: Australia defeat NZ. 2015 rugby World Cup final?
Back in March, hopes were high the Black Caps could finish their World Cup fairytale in style after playing an exciting attacking brand of cricket throughout eight successive wins en route to the tournament final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
It all went pear-shaped however, after captain Brendan McCullum got out for a duck, and the Black Caps were skittled for 183 as the Aussies claimed their fifth World Cup win with an emphatic seven-wicket victory.
Come August, the Silver Ferns got their World Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a shock five-goal win over the host nation in their opening pool match in Sydney.
It was the first time New Zealand had beaten Australia since 2013, but they couldn't back it up when the two sides met again in the tournament final, losing 58-55 after falling behind in a dreadful opening quarter.
Unlike those two occasions however, the All Blacks are favourites this time, at least, and will play the Wallabies at a neutral venue at the home of England Rugby.
Pat Cummins and Mitch Marsh hold the Cricket World Cup trophy aloft after beating the Black Caps at the MCG. Photo / Getty Images
It will be the third time the two sides have played each other this season, after Australia claimed a rare Rugby Championship victory in Sydney in early August, before the All Blacks squared the ledger in the Bledisloe Cup rematch at Eden Park a week later.
Both sides have gone unbeaten on their path to the World Cup final and topped their respective pools, with the All Blacks accounting for Argentina, Namibia, Georgia, and Tonga, before thrashing France in the quarterfinal and outlasting the Springboks in yesterday's tense semifinal.
The Wallabies emerged atop of the 'Pool of Death' after beating Fiji, Uruguay, England, and Wales, before last week's controversial quarterfinal win over Scotland, and today's entertaining semifinal victory over Argentina.
Australia celebrates with the Netball World Cup trophy after beating New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images
The two teams have met on three occasions in past World Cups, with Australia scoring famous semifinal wins in 1991 and 2003, to send the highly touted All Blacks packing.
They couldn't repeat the feat in 2011, with the All Blacks dispatching the Wallabies at Eden Park, a week before beating France to claim their second World Cup title.
Both teams have won two World Cup's (All Blacks 1987 and 2011, Australia 1991 and 1999) and the scene is now set for one nation to become the first to claim a third Webb Ellis crown.
