SYDNEY - The numbers point to a classic case of All Black attack against Wallaby defence tonight.
New Zealand continue to set new ground with their point-scoring feats this season. Australia aren't far behind them at this tournament and can boast a better defence, the basis of their 1999 triumph.
As charismatic
television commentator and former Wallaby Chris Handy puts it, the Wallabies must "keep them nude" - or tryless - if they are to beat the favoured All Blacks.
And the hosts have the statistics to suggest they could keep New Zealand's expansive game in check.
They have conceded the fewest points at the tournament (48 to the All Blacks' 66), the fewest tries (four to six), the fewest line breaks (five to 18) and boast the best tackle completion rate - 89.5 per cent compared with New Zealand's 84.2 per cent.
New Zealand have the edge in scoring, but not by a lot.
The men in black have notched 45 tries, a tournament record, and the Wallabies are just four behind.
The former record was 43, set by the All Blacks in 1987.
Their World Cup scoring record of 327 points from that same tournament is under threat from both sides, New Zealand having run in 311 points from five games and Australia 306. England are third on 283.
Eighteen All Blacks have scored tries at the tournament, with each position represented.
The 2003 season is also setting a new benchmark for scoring. New Zealand's 74 test tries this year is a world record in a calendar year, and their 552 points is not far from the record of 584 they set in the 1995 season. They scored 571 in 1997.
The All Blacks' average test score this year is a 46-14 win.
The point-scoring feats can be partly explained by their record number of tests this year. They will play 14, surpassing the previous mark of 12 in 1995, 1997 and 1999.
The Wallabies have not been beaten at a World Cup since their quarter-final against England in 1995. Their winning streak of 11 cup tests has surpassed the previous-best run of 10 by the All Blacks.
That run ended when Australia beat them 16-6 in the 1991 semifinal at Dublin, the only previous time the two have met in the cup.
The Wallabies boast an average 29 tests per starting player, five more a man than the All Blacks. That figure is boosted by halfback George Gregan and first five-eighths Stephen Larkham, who tally 150 caps between them.
Gregan and his All Black counterpart, Justin Marshall, are the veteran players in both teams. They clash for the 18th time.
- NZPA
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SYDNEY - The numbers point to a classic case of All Black attack against Wallaby defence tonight.
New Zealand continue to set new ground with their point-scoring feats this season. Australia aren't far behind them at this tournament and can boast a better defence, the basis of their 1999 triumph.
As charismatic
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