Pick the score - All Blacks v Wallabies

Here's another chance to win a fabulous $300 voucher from the Lone Star Cafe and Bar.

Alongside the Caption of the Week competition, Yahoo!Xtra certainly knows how to keep you creative and knowledgeable sports fans busy.

Again, it's simple. I want your scoreline prediction along with the winner and the loser of the Bledisloe Cup clash between the All Blacks and the Wallabies in Tokyo this
Saturday night, our time.

The 300 dollar voucher will only be won by an entry picking the exact scoreline and the winner and the loser.

Only one entry can win which means that in the case of more than one correct entry, the prize will go to the first to provide the correct answers.

This competition will close at 7pm on Saturday evening with the game scheduled to start at 9.30pm.

In the event of no correct entries, the 300 dollar voucher will be deferred until the next Man in the Stand competition involving the test against England on November the 22nd.

Although this is the one Bledisloe encounter that doubles as the year's most transparent cash-grab by both the NZRFU and the ARU, there is still heaps on the line.

Both teams will crave the momentum that a first-up win will provide on their respective northern hemisphere tours to follow.

In the Wallabies case, a loss would inject an inevitable lack of confidence into the team’ recently-bruised psyche ahead of the Grand Slam tour of the UK and Ireland and would be another wrenching body-blow to Robbie Deans’ credibility in the Land of Oz.

For the All Blacks, a loss would represent the removal of their foot from the Wallabies' throat, a dampener to their remaining five tests this year and another blot on their patchy CV this year.

Probably, the most intriguing aspect of this particular Bledisloe showdown is the very real pressure on both teams to win for the reasons above but also to treat as paramount, the need to turn on a convincing display of open, free-running rugby.

Both teams have already acknowledged the fact that there is some added responsibility to make this game a showpiece display for the millions of television viewers who do not watch test rugby on a regular basis.

Before the news that Berrick Barnes is now out of the match due to an ankle injury incurred at training, I really did agree with Steve Hansen's assertion from Tokyo that the Wallabies' backline looked the most formidable to take the field so far in 2009.

But now that Barnes has gone and the kid, James O'Connor is back in the run-on XV, replacing Adam Ashley-Cooper at fullback who in turn, has moved to second-five to replace Barnes, I’m backing the men in black without hesitation.

To me, O'Connor is simply too young for the international deep-end right now.

I saw him stuff-up at critical times in Auckland, Sydney and Wellington this year against the All Blacks and I cannot understand why Deans doesn’t shelve the youngster until he’s had more Super 14 experience.

They are my thoughts. Of course, a desperate, attack-minded Wallabies outfit is always potentially dangerous.

There is plenty of other analysis to embark but I'll gladly leave that to the legend himself, Buck Shelford and his upcoming blog.

I keenly await your entries. The astute judges that you are almost guarantees one of you will win the Lone Star 300 dollar voucher this time around.

Good luck.

YOUR COMMENTS

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davidmckay197412 - posted Oct 30 12:34 pm
My Prediction. New Zealand 36 Australia 16
j.m.roach@xtra.co.nz - posted Oct 30 12:39 pm
21-12 to NZ
ekhrebtova - posted Oct 30 12:39 pm
New Zealand 27 Australia 26
john.toomey@xtra.co.nz - posted Oct 30 12:44 pm
New Zealand 19 Australia 15
col.ronb@xtra.co.nz - posted Oct 30 12:46 pm
New Zealand 20 Austraila 18
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