The sporting week in numbers, compiled by Kris Shannon of APNZ
30 - The All Blacks are unbeaten this year but it feels a lot longer since they last lost at home, and that feeling would be correct. If they win against Australia on Saturday, the All Blacks will equal their longest unbeaten streak in New Zealand - a 30-match run between 2003 and 2008.
4 - A loss for the Wallabies in Dunedin would prolong a rough patch in sport for our neighbours. The latest page in that particular book was written on Thursday when Australia failed to defend 359 against India, meaning the green and gold have now given up the four highest run chases in ODI history.
7 - Consecutive 6-0 losses in football haven't helped Australia's cause but, before we crow too much, it's only fair to mention the performance of the New Zealand under-17 team. The Young All Whites were last night thrashed 7-0 to open the World Cup, albeit at the hands of one of the favourites in Uruguay.
1,000,000 - At least an Australian team won the NRL, even if the competition was again tainted by scandal. The peptides saga, which was a black cloud over Cronulla's season, will soon be resolved with a maximum fine of A$1 million - half the amount handed to AFL club Essendon for similar offences.
1 - Even the cream of Australia's league crop couldn't help but find the limelight when on World Cup duty. It took only one night for the Kangaroos to run into trouble in the United Kingdom, with Canberra back-rower Josh Papalii robbed after a night out in Manchester before the start of the competition.
6 - As well as this column is doing, Ben Smith has proved to be the premier Aussie-basher this year. If he scores against the Wallabies this weekend, the winger will join Marc Ellis (Japan) and John Kirwan (Wales) as the only All Black to score six tries against the same opponent in a calendar year.
4 - It's starting to feel a bit like piling on so here's one sport the Ockers are currently dominating. Australia won another last-minute affair against the Silver Ferns on Sunday, marking the Diamonds' fourth straight victory over their old rival and putting the icing on the cake that was the Constellation Cup.
2097 - New Zealand's failings don't end there - we were also given a bit of a run-around by Bangladesh during parts of the drawn first test. Sohag Gazi, in particular, enjoyed his time against the Black Caps, becoming the first cricketer in 2097 tests to record a hat-trick and score a century in the same match.
175,000 - We also may struggle to make the football World Cup, an event for which Australia have already qualified. The magnitude of the task facing the All Whites is illustrated by Estadio Azteca - Mexico's home stadium - having 175,000 Twitter followers, compared to 10,000 for NZ Football.
3 - But at least Ricki Herbert is still at the helm for the All Whites. His Australian counterpart, Holger Osieck, was sacked last weekend in the wake of Australia's 6-0 loss to France, making him the third top Australian coach - after Mickey Arthur and Robbie Deans - to lose his job in the 2013.
- APNZ
