Nigel Yalden and Pat McKendry discuss the Captain's run ahead of tomorrow night's Bledisloe Cup final at Eden Park.
Air NZ has taken a leaf out of the Vegemite and Marmite Ashes battle to fire early warning shots at the Wallabies ahead of tonight's Bledisloe Cup decider against the All Blacks at Eden Park.
The national airline paid for full-page advertising spreads in the Aussie and Kiwi papers directed at 17-year-old rugby supporters.
"You've seen a lot of things in your lifetime," the advert in today's Herald reads.
"The birth of the smartphone; the growth of the internet; social media; driver-less cars; and the birth of the 7 billionth person" are all listed as examples of what's happened in a 17-year old's life.
"But. You've never seen Australia win the Bledisloe Cup. We plan on keeping it that way."
The cheeky dig comes as the Wallabies are riding high ahead of tonight's clash after a 21-point masterclass dismantling of the All Blacks last week in Perth.
Yet despite last week's heroics, the last time the Wallabies won the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks was a lengthy 17 years ago.
The Wallabies also haven't beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986.
Sam Whitelock and Kieran Read as mocked by the Daily Telegraph via FaceApp.
Those difficult odds aren't likely to prevent Aussie supporters flocking into Auckland and have prompted one Auckland bar own to put out an alert for the imminent arrival of a swarm of pests worse than possums.
Leo Molloy, the owner of Viaduct sports bar HeadQuarters, sounded the warning in Facebook post.
"Pest control advises that the following obnoxious and dangerous Australian pests may be drifting across the Tasman and they are not welcome at HQ: Rod Kafer, Phil Kearns, Michael Cheika, Quade Cooper and Jerome Garces," his bar's Facebook page said.
'Obnoxious and dangerous': Auckland bar HeadQuarters has put out a pest warning about Wallaby supporters. Photo / Facebook
The hype for tonight's match comes as Australian supporters and media have become emboldened enough by last week's thrashing of the All Blacks to put their heads above the parapets and fire cheeky salvoes at their Trans Tasman foes.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper got in on the act during the week, using a phone app to portray the All Blacks as a dad's army.
Sonny Bill Williams isn't that old is he? Photo / Getty Images and FaceApp
The paper showed Kieran Read, Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Whitelock under a headline "Wallabies warned not to take All Blacks' senior citizens lightly".
The gag is reminiscent of the Telegraph's lead-up work to the 2015 World Cup final, when it labelled Richie McCaw the "Richetty Grub" who was the "master of the dark arts of breakdown cheating".
As the latest story notes, the Wallabies' match day squad are lively young pups compared to the All Black side which capitulated in Perth.
It helpfully lists the All Blacks in the over-30s club: SBW (34), Kieran Read (33), Ben Smith (33), Dane Coles (32), Owen Franks (31), Matt Todd (31), Sam Whitelock (30), Aaron Smith (30), Joe Moody (30).
The Wallabies have 10 players over 30 in their squad, but most of them have become fringe selections as coach Michael Cheika turns to younger performers.
