Who else could beat last Saturday's All Blacks?

The poms are already saying that if THE AB’s were to play this year the poms would win. With six to eight first 15 players out with injury my grandmother would be an chance with her aged care mob, let’s leave the bragging til 2018-19

The All Blacks are no great shakes this season but they only lost by 5 points. The Wallabies' victory was nowhere near as comprehensive as England in 2012 or Ireland in Chicago. It's not the first time they've played poorly in the third Bledisloe test or in Brisbane for that matter. It would have been worse for the All Blacks if they'd lost at home in Dunedin. Two home losses in a season would have been their worst result since 2009. Australia deserves credit for galvanizing their squad and not imploding given the drama surrounding Australian rugby this season. They have some veteran players playing extremely well like Genia and Beale. One other thing, people seem to have instantly forgotten how poor Cruden was in the Lions series. He may be the second best 10 that NZ have but he didn't play well this season.

Barrett has a broken shoulder.

What does that actually mean ....play the ref better? And which matches in particular have they done this better.

"they" ? depends on how many you think is a lot?

how does "senior international match " translate to "test" ? also , its ok for everyone to say 7S is the way to take the game to new markets , to popularize rugby , to introduce the gospel to people, blah blah , but then not consider it as " senior international rugby" ?? also i did not know that matches played by Maori ABs are not tests. so are they also just a circus like the babarians? the suits use 7S for everything , but when it comes to recognition it is the step child , DUH.

I think all three Ireland England and South Africa could have beaten that New Zealand team. They were missing Retallick, Barrett and their props and were not helped by Steve Hansens poor selection. IMO they should be picking lienart brown over sonny bill and jordie barrett over mckenzie (and have him kicking also), Victor Vito is badly missed and is by far the best NZ 6 playing at the moment, Squire is a journeyman one trick pony. England will always be a problem for any team because of their strength and depth, however the Irish are a powerful side already and have really good young players coming through, they would still have the best chance out of all the teams to beat a full strength ABs

Yes but no one has caught up Cuw. Innovation is exactly whats kept the ABs ahead all these years. Theyve had no one ahead of them to chase, yet theyve kept well ahead of the peleton. One or two narrow wins is not catching up, especially when in other matches against the same teams the ABs won easily. No ones won easily against the ABs.

What! ?

Sevens has its own category, otherwise youre saying a Sevens player could win this award, or a NZ Maori could, without playing a test...because if they count they should be able to be awarded, how fair would that be?

@ Londoner - 'The NH under values Oz... any win over Oz for any NH side is not seen as a given but a big result.' In addition to the glaring contradiction in your statement, I have seen little evidence to suggest that the WB's are undervalued in the NH. Their current 'value' or place in the pecking order (like other international sides) will be based largely upon their win-loss ratio, over the last 12-18 months. Why should it be any other way? On this basis, I see no reason to assume that should ENG beat them again, for the fifth time on the trot, the win will be considered a 'big' scalp. World's Biggest, described them as 'respected and well regarded' and I would agree with this, even prior to last weekend's result against the AB's... and their fine performance on Saturday simply reinforces the notion that they are on an upward curve. But let's be clear here, recently they've drawn twice with SA, beaten ARG twice, ( a feat also achieved by England 'Colts' earlier this year, away from home) and L2, W1 against the world's best team. However, unless they kick-on and win at least 3 of the 4 EOYT test matches... and not a given, considering a) their lack of consistency, to date and b) Scotland at Murrayfield, will also (like the WB's) be a different beast to the one faced earlier this year, in Australia. The game at Twickenham will be one to savour and it's a game that the WB's are capable of winning. Will they win? IMO, no, I don't think so. There is of course, a lot of rugby to be played before then, for both teams, and it will be interesting to see who's 'still standing' when the respective sides are selected. Ultimately (and by the end of the game) I expect the depth on England's bench and the coaching smarts of EJ, to be the difference between the two sides.

PeterK, NZers do tend to overrate our depth, I agree with you on that. If we had access to all our NH based players, then I might buy into the hype, but not as it stands. Having said that, our depth in some positions is insanely good, and we have a couple of positions of very little depth as well. Take McKenzie for example, granted he didn't have the best game on the weekend but he was the MOTM in the previous two matches. He's our fourth choice fullback behind Smith, Jordie and Dagg. Lot's of wingers and centres as well. Our depth at loosehead prop in non existent and while we have some great 10s coming through, they are not ready yet and Cruden aside who is no longer eligible, no one else is currently near the standard of Barrett, as was proven on Saturday with Sopoaga.

At this particular point in time, I agree with you, London Waratah. But I am very confident that come 2019, the ABs will be as strong if not stronger than the 2015 team. Big statement I know but I am really excited about the young talent coming through.

Fair enough, Poth, can't argue with any of that :)

Think England Ireland are capable, but being capable and delivering are two different things! Well done to the Wallabies.

Peter, not sure I agree with your comment about the Wallabies not being rated in the NH. I think they are respected and well regarded but just not feared like the AB's and to a lesser extent the Boks. The NH teams rate themselves a chance of beating the Wallas which is fair enough because they have done so over the years. Teams ranked 3-8 can beat each other on any given day, there isn't much between them. This is great for World Rugby.

As a kiwi I'm happy for the wallabies. Because seriously, they needed it and deserved it more than us. It may have been a dead rubber., but it meant everything to them. Weve got two years till the wc, we ain't peaking which means we're on track, it seems apart from Argentina every other team is peaking. Let's see how the rest of the world are in two years

I've always thought the WBs are underrated. They play NZ 3 times a year so of course cop alot of losses. They have some really good backs and with the NRL on their doorstep can always poach a winger or centre to add try scoring ability. The NH under values them yet Wales will still be Likely to loose to them and any win over Oz for any NH side is not seen as a given but a big result. I include England in that category too. What I think about NZ is many people myself included over estimated their 2nd and 3rd string. The effect of money in France and England means the really good reserves are off... Cruden, TKB etc....and the likes of Sopoanga while good players are a clear step down from the current 10. That wasn't the case with Cruden. I think it's time Moaunga got a chance at the 10 jersey.

peaking does not necessarily mean they have to go down. they can always plateau :) it is natural for followers to catch up with a leader , in anything. competitive advantage is difficult to maintain unless u keep on innovating and the others take time to catch up. best eg. is Apple i phone. the new 8 is perceived as not so superior to the 7. in a static game like rugger , there is so much u can innovate.

I think the question is.....If they played each other again this weekend would Aus win???Answer would have to be NO as the Aus side wins 1 every 3 or 4 years