Wallabies eye Bok ranking
Australia have not beaten New Zealand in Sydney since 2008, but if they can give Ewen McKenzie a winning start to his reign as coach then the Wallabies will climb above South Africa into second in the IRB World Rankings.
The Wallabies currently trail South Africa by just under two tenths (0.16) going into the opening weekend of the Rugby Championship, but the Springboks cannot improve their own rating even with an emphatic victory over 10th ranked Argentina in Soweto.
Australia could, in theory, close to within 0.14 points of top spot, but this would require them to beat the All Blacks by a margin of more than 15 points at ANZ Stadium, something they haven't done since a 17-0 victory in Christchurch back in 1921.
A win for New Zealand would give them their 100th Test victory over Australia – making them the first to ever record a century over a single country – and increase their cushion at the top to just over four rating points ahead of South Africa.
If the All Blacks can win by more than 15 points then the Southern Hemisphere dominance of the top three positions in the IRB World Rankings will end with Australia falling below England to fourth by just over three tenths.
Australia, though, could lose the Rugby Championship opener and still climb to second in the rankings in the event that Argentina record a first ever victory over South Africa at Soccer City – as any margin of defeat would drop the Springboks to fourth.
If Argentina can create a piece of history with their first Rugby Championship victory then they will climb one or two places, depending on the winning margin, with Scotland and Ireland the teams in their sights.
