With the Wallabies lying prostrate on the canvas, South Africa and New Zealand head to the chilly surrounds of Dunedin to contest the unofficial final of the 2005 Tri-Nations series.
First Blood: So’oialo and Pretorius tussle in Cape Town
The Boks, unbeaten in their last five Tri-Nations encounters, need only a draw or a win to retain the crown they won in 2004.
A New Zealand win will leave the All Blacks needing only to beat Australia in the last round to pocket the spoils.
For those with a penchant for mathematics, yes - there are other permutations at play, but Saturday’s protagonists won’t be doing any number-crunching just yet.
For the moment, a win at Carisbrook is the be all and end all - the ABs are out to avenge their defeat in Cape Town; the Boks are determined to decide their own fate.
Bok coach Jake White has been keen to play the ‘final’ card in the build-up to this encounter, and why not? The All Blacks have proved themselves to be slightly suspect when faced with a knock-out situation, and White is well within his rights to pick at a raw nerve if he happens to chance on one - he won’t find too many!
Having said that, White could poke at New Zealand’s 22-16 defeat at Newlands - a result that took some of the gloss off the aura that the All Blacks had picked up during their annihilation of the much-vaunted British & Irish Lions.
And then there’s the absence of ABs first-choice halfbacks, Dan Carter and Byron Kelleher, which has left a few New Zealanders expecting the worst come Saturday.
But despite these potential collywobbles, the locals remain firm favourites - and with good reason.
Their demolition of Australia in Sydney appears to indicate that the result in South Africa was nothing more than a blip in an otherwise upward trajectory.
And then there’s the location of Saturday’s encounter. The All Blacks don’t make a habit of losing at home - they have suffered just two defeats on their own turf in the last seven years (England in 2003 and Australia in 2001).
The Boks, for their part, have managed just one win over the All Blacks in New Zealand in the past 24 years and have never won at Dunedin’s Carisbrook.
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