Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says his side will get through the final against the All Blacks on adrenaline after beating Argentina 29-15 in their semifinal.
Cheika's men have had to beat Fiji, Wales and England, plus sneak past Scotland in their quarter-final to make next Sunday's showdown at Twickenham, whereasthe All Blacks had a tough test against Argentina and breezed past Tonga, Namibia, and Georgia before blowing France away in their quarter-final.
The All Blacks' toughest test was yesterday's 20-18 semifinal victory over South Africa but the feeling is they have more in the tank that the Wallabies, who almost lost to the Scots before getting out of jail with a 35-34 victory last weekend.
Today they controlled the match in the first half thanks to Adam Ashley-Cooper's two tries and one to Rob Simmons, but at 22-15 up in the second half they lost some composure as the Pumas poured on the pressure. Unfortunately for the South Americans, they couldn't capitalise on their chances against a tight defensive unit.
Asked how much the Aussies had left in the tank, Cheika said: "Probably about 80 minutes, I reckon. We might need a little more, I don't know. Obviously New Zealand have had a very different path to get here.
"Obviously they will be feeling differently in their preparation. But it's a World Cup final and the adrenaline is going to be pumping. Anyone who is a little bit sore is going to forget all about soreness."
Midfielder Matt Giteau left the field with what was described as a groin niggle, and fullback Israel Folau limped off with what look like a recurrence of his ankle problem. Cheika played down Folau's issue, saying he was always going to come off on the hour mark, but Australia's key attacking weapon - subdued throughout - received medical attention before his departure and didn't look entirely happy.
Like his Springboks counterpart Heyneke Meyer before the semifinal against the All Blacks, Cheika was happy to praise the All Blacks, although not quite to the same extent.
"They're obviously the world's No1 and they're there for a reason," he said. "We've only beaten them once out of the last 10 - something like that. I think they'll be feeling pretty good and that they've got our measure. It's up to us to do something special, do something extra, to just be competitive, and we'll see what happens from there.
"Every game at this level is so hard and when you've got a team like New Zealand who have got many threats ... they're a very well-drilled side. They have an excellent coach and are very well organised.
"They know what they're doing all the time on the field in all situations, whether it's kicking or running. You have to be working hard all the time. And you have to believe in your own way of playing. We know that we're going to have to improve again and we'll be doing our best to do that."
