Three key questions: Can we expect a close game?

Jerome Kaino celebrates his try. Australia v New Zealand. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

Herald rugby experts Gregor Paul and Patrick McKendry answer three key questions ahead of tonight's Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington.

The Wallabies have copped a fair amount of criticism this week after last week's result. Do you expect it to be a closer game in Wellington than it was in Sydney?

Gregor Paul: The Wallabies should certainly play with more urgency and accuracy and be more proactive about things. They are set up - with two No 10s - to kick more. If the weather holds, might see a tight first half with the All Blacks coasting away in the final 15 minutes to maybe winning by 12-15 points.

Patrick McKendry: Yes, and because of familiarity as much as anything. The Wallabies will know exactly what they are up against now and should have prepared accordingly. Their attitude at least should be better and they will have worked on specific ways to combat the All Blacks' attack, in particular. Look for them to attempt to slow the All Blacks' ball at the breakdown and improve their line-speed on defence.

Do you expect fans to boo Quade Cooper? Is it time to move on or is it a bit of harmless fun?

Gregor Paul: Not really interested in whether anyone boos or cheers for Quade. People can do what they like, not really our place to tell New Zealanders how they should feel about Cooper.

Patrick McKendry: Hard to say - there might be some early booing, and yes it's definitely time everyone moved on.

The All Blacks were pretty impressive last week but talk about constant improvement. What areas could they do better?

Gregor Paul: They were good, but they also turned the ball over 22 times. That's quite a lot so they will want to protect the ball better. They also lost a bit of their clinical edge in the second half - they will want to retain that for longer.

Patrick McKendry: They have to start again from scratch so that means they must look to improve every aspect of their game. Ball retention is one thing in particular they might have done better in Sydney, but that's probably being a bit picky.