Eye on crucial match-ups - and the ref

WYNNE GRAY provides incisive pen-pictures of tonight's key areas.

The Back Three: MacDonald is confident and has a great defensive game while Burke offers strong counterattack and goalkicking. If he gets the ball in space, Lomu will make life hell for Latham, and Wilson and Roff are the old wise heads on the other flank.

Centres: Umaga and Alatini are solid on defence, but have yet to display much attack in this Tri-Nations. Herbert and Grey have followed a similar pattern in this aggressive part of the field.

Halves: Mehrtens is a master of the tactical kick, has vision and is deadly when he picks his time to run. Can be suspect on the tackle. Larkham is a different playmaker, running the angles looking to offload. Displayed deft kick at Dunedin, strong defender. Kelleher had a huge comeback test in Auckland, snappy passer and aggressive throughout his game. Gregan is the conductor, sweeping out passes and a master defender. Should be an eye-catching halfback duel which will test referee Tappe Henning.

Loose forwards: Kefu regularly makes it to the advantage line for his supports, but can be exposed for speed on defence, Cribb is a ballplayer, but in his enthusiasm can drift away from team-mates or go a metre too far. Smith has been the master of the breakdown, either protecting possession or snaffling it. He instinctively seems to be in the right place. Randell is a tackling machine, an born organiser, but without the same presence at the tackled ball area. Finegan is the muscle man, the go-to man when Gregan needs metres on the fringes. He's also a rugged defender. Flavell is a more explosive and expansive runner, a lineout forward whose close-in defence will be tested.

Locks: Eales is the king of the air at either lineout or kickoffs. His leadership controls the rhythm and speed at which the Wallabies want to play. Maxwell is a great leaper and fearless competitor who needs to rattle the Wallabies. Giffin could be a little rusty, but has been recalled for more grunt in the set-piece and front-of-the-lineout work. Jack excelled in his first start, but must contest the opposition throw more. Will not back down from the tough stuff.

Front Row: Somerville, Oliver and Hoeft were staunch against the Springboks and must persuade Henning they are in control at the scrums. Moore, Foley and Stiles are adequate workers and regularly show they are underestimated.

Refereee: Tappe Henning. Discipline will be crucial as the South African will want to stamp his approach on the test straight away. Players will have to adapt quickly to his interpretation of the tackled ball and his insistence on lineout numbers and scrum engagement. Expect penalties.

Crowd: About 91,000 will be at Stadium Australia. Lots of Kiwi support, but the gold-and-green army will take a lot of silencing. Expect plenty of Waltzing Matilda.

Goalkicking: Burke has the advantage of more practice with the Summit ball, though he hashed several close shots in Perth. Mehrtens mishit a couple at Eden Park as well.

Strategy: The Wallabies out-manouevred the All Blacks in Dunedin, but the All Blacks returned with some smart play against the Boks. Both teams rely on their defence, the one chancing their arm tonight may get the vital early break.