The blame for the row over World Cup payments rests squarely at the feet of the International Rugby Board.
If you look at the big professional sports events round the globe, they all have prizemoney, except the rugby World Cup.
That just does not make sense. The IRB have effectively said to each union, "you sort it out."
That's just not good enough. Had the IRB, who are making squillions from the cup, announced there would be a winners' pot of, say £2 million ($5.5 million) - and make no mistake it can afford that - we wouldn't be sitting here on the day of the Bledisloe Cup, three months out from the World Cup, talking about money.
It would have been a carrot and the IRB would have been saying "here it is, now come and get it."
Instead, we're left squabbling over cash when the players' minds should be on the game.
Second on my guilty list are the New Zealand Rugby Union. They lost the sub-hosting rights to the World Cup through penny-pinching, and they're making the same mistake here.
I don't believe the players are being excessively greedy in asking for a figure in the region of $100,000 to $120,000, when England's players are getting about £100,000 apiece if they win the cup.
That equates to about $275,000, but as anyone who has lived in Britain will tell you, in terms of cost of living, a pound equals a dollar, so don't be misled by the currency translation.
Australia's players are likely to collect about A$100,000 ($113,000) if they win. So the All Blacks are not asking for an outrageous amount by comparison with two of their biggest rivals.
If the All Blacks - or Rupa, their players' association - wanted to really push an argument they would have asked for, say, $200,000 apiece, and settled for maybe half that. Instead, they seem to be saying "this is what we believe we're worth." End of story.
NZRFU chief executive Chris Moller needs to act quickly. They are putting up chickenfeed and should improve their offer.
If the idea is to win the World Cup through a collective effort, administrators and players side by side, they're not going about it the right way.
Some of the All Blacks have said they're not thinking about the money issue in the lead-up to tonight's test.
I find that a little hard to believe. Obviously they will have it, at the least, in the back of their minds.
You play rugby because you love it, but these days you also play it with remuneration in mind.
There was a time you would pull on the black jersey for nothing. You can't use that argument in these professional times.
Setting all that money talk aside, I'm confident the All Blacks will have Australia's measure tonight.
I'm intrigued by Wallaby coach Eddie Jones' decision to pair two openside flankers, George Smith and Phil Waugh. He's obviously looking for more mobility and speed to the breakdown.
The flipside is he will lose a lineout jumper as neither Toutai Kefu nor Smith, who is likely to be used near the back tonight, is a frontline leaper.
On balance, I suspect John Mitchell and Robbie Deans will be rubbing their hands at Jones' decision.
Why? They will reckon they at least have parity with Australia's two remaining lineout men, David Giffin and Daniel Vickerman, and will be happy to put Reuben Thorne and Richie McCaw as tailend jumpers up against Smith any day.
But just as importantly, the All Blacks have spent hours working on the breakdown. It began with Canterbury and the Crusaders, and the Blues have caught onto it.
The All Blacks are very clinical, very precise at the breakdowns. They are developing a plan whereby, say, Doug Howlett or Tana Umaga can go in and do the job of McCaw or Smith if the breakdown is in their vicinity.
Sure, they may not be as effective as the specialist No 7, but they know what is required and will be technically sound, due to the time spent on the training pitch. It is a matter of timing and body positioning.
England are the world leaders in that breakdown situation at the moment.
I believe the All Blacks will target Elton Flatley at second five-eighth as a potential weak link.
I would have had Matthew Burke in the midfield, and Chris Latham at fullback. Burke has a ton of presence and is a class player. Latham is deceptively quick and would offer an attacking edge at fullback.
The All Blacks should go out aiming to consolidate on what was a special scoreline last weekend in Pretoria.
They know they are not going to be dominated by Australia and will sense an opportunity to play their own game.
On their day, Australia, if they put the right combination together, can handle most teams. But they were spanked by England and certainly aren't the team of two years ago. And they clearly lack depth.
