1. The All Blacks and Australia's Wallabies have the fiercest, most provocative battles, partly drawing on the Southern nations' Trans-Tasman rivalry. Conrad Smith, one of Richie McCaw's vice captains, put it best: "South Africans obviously want you to lose at any cost, but they still respect you. If it's a good game of rugby, they'll respect that. Australians want you to lose, but then that's all they want. I remember some tough times in Sydney. The Australians have a way of getting under your skin."

2. The All Blacks have maintained an extraordinary win record of almost 90 per cent since Graham Henry took over in 2004. His former assistant Steve Hansen has coached the team since Richie McCaw held the Cup aloft in Auckland, and they've only lost three times under his stewardship. But one of those, only two and a half months ago, was to Michael Cheikha's Wallabies. Like Japan's Eddie Jones, Cheikha is a brilliant, tough coach. Australia hasn't always been the inclusive cosmopolitan country it is today. Cheika – who is Lebanese Australian – didn't always have it easy on the way to the top, and has moulded his team with a hard, resilient attitude.

3. The All Blacks have also toughened their approach this Rugby World Cup. The night before their crushing quarter-final victory over Les Bleus, the atypical quiet at the Millennium Stadium was slightly unsettling. Richie McCaw and his forwards solemnly stood in a circle like soldiers, arms wrapped tightly around each other, as he addressed them in hushed tones. (Nearby an extraordinarily pensive Conrad Smith sat under the goalposts cradling a rugby ball like it was a baby.) The All Blacks couldn't be taking this World Cup more seriously. And, despite what the semi-final penalty count suggests, they are a disciplined, focussed team.

4. Cheika inherited a "marshmallow scrum", but has made this part of the Wallabies' game competitive. He'll be sweating over Scott Sio's match-fitness. Sio was sorely missed against Argentina, as the Pumas made James Slipper look like a stunned schoolboy before Cheikha pulled him from the paddock. Meanwhile, the All Blacks scrum is missing centurion Tony Woodcock, out with injury.

5. Soldier Willie Apiata, awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in Afghanistan, has been giving the All Blacks pep talks in the lead up to the final. Prop Owen Franks, the most minimalist of All Blacks interviewees, was unusually expressive when I raised the question of Apiata's inspiration: "He's the toughest of the tough," Franks said. "He gives us a lot of energy."

6. The Wallabies have also developed their backline flair under Cheikha. Adam Ashley-Cooper's hat-trick against the Pumas showed there's plenty of life in the old dog yet, while fellow winger Drew Mitchell has notably improved his fitness, and almost scored one of the tries of the tournament. Fullback Israel Folau is yet to reach his potential this tournament, and his ankle still doesn't look right. But Cheika has nurtured Kurtley Beale, the team's one Aboriginal player, and Beale has been dazzling against England and Argentina.

7. As dangerous as the Wallabies back three will be, the All Blacks have the edge here. Who would have thought there'd probably be no room in the 23 for an incredible winger like Waisake Naholo? Julian Savea's Lomu-esque bounce gets a lot of attention. Nehe Milner-Skudder's almost physics-defying swoops and steps are equally capable of winning champion games. After Ben Smith's man-of-the-match performance against the Springboks, the peerless fullback told me he agrees: "Nehe's footwork is amazing. He keep defences guessing."

8. The most crucial, physical showdown will be between the mighty loose-forward trios. Michael Hooper, David Pocock and Scott Fardy versus Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read will be one for the ages. Pocock is an absolute dingo, his 14 turnover steals and full metal dynamism making a case for King of the Breakdown. On the other side, there's skipper McCaw, playing for Greatest Player of the Professional Era. During the middle of the challenging 2009 season, after the Springboks beat the All Blacks three times in a row, McCaw laid the famous black jersey in front of his men at an Auckland hotel and read them the riot act. "There've been some great men who spilt blood for this jersey, made sacrifices…The toughness, ruthlessness, power, pace. The want. That's got to come from within, the inner desire to spill some blood if that's what it takes." McCaw will lead his men for the last time with blood-spilling, all-consuming commitment.

9. The All Blacks also have the advantage over the Green and Golds with their bench – particularly as the game enters its exhausted final quarter. Not only can they replace Ma'a Nonu (or possibly Conrad Smith) with Sonny Bill Williams, but off the pine their embarassment of riches includes the likes of Beauden Barrett, Victor Vito, and Charlie Faumuina.

10. The semi-final victory over South Africa showcased the All Blacks ability to change their game plan. Expansive running flair against the French to a more conservative, tight game against the Springboks. Coming out of the tiring Pool of Life, Australia have also impressively executed a variety of approaches: different for England, Wales and Argentina. Whatever game plans they pick for Twickenham on Saturday, both the All Blacks and the Wallabies will be relentless and damn good, leaving everything between the white chalk lines. "Inches are all it will decided by," Conrad Smith, told me, evoking Al Pacino's take on the Antipodean neighbours' cracker of a 2011 semi-final. This time, both sides are on the brink of immortality: the first country to win the Rugby World Cup for a third time and, in New Zealand's case, the first team to go back-to-back, far from home.

Straight after the semi-final, an ashen-faced, very softly-spoken Springbok captain Fourie Du Preez told me he thinks the All Blacks will win on Saturday. "They've been the best team in the world for five years, and are playing like world champions," Du Preez says. I agree.

_3. The All Blacks have also toughened their approach this Rugby World Cup. The night before their crushing quarter-final victory over _Les Bleus, the atypical quiet at the Millennium Stadium was slightly unsettling. Richie McCaw and his forwards solemnly stood in a circle like soldiers, arms wrapped tightly around each other, as he addressed them in hushed tones. (Nearby an extraordinarily pensive Conrad Smith sat under the goalposts cradling a rugby ball like it was a baby.) The All Blacks couldn't be taking this World Cup more seriously. And, despite what the semi-final penalty count suggests, they are a disciplined, focussed team.

4. Cheika inherited a "marshmallow scrum", but has made this part of the Wallabies' game competitive. He'll be sweating over Scott Sio's match-fitness. Sio was sorely missed against Argentina, as the Pumas made James Slipper look like a stunned schoolboy before Cheikha pulled him from the paddock. Meanwhile, the All Blacks scrum is missing centurion Tony Woodcock, out with injury.

5. Soldier Willie Apiata, awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in Afghanistan, has been giving the All Blacks pep talks in the lead up to the final. Prop Owen Franks, the most minimalist of All Blacks interviewees, was unusually expressive when I raised the question of Apiata's inspiration: "He's the toughest of the tough," Franks said. "He gives us a lot of energy."

6. The Wallabies have also developed their backline flair under Cheikha. Adam Ashley-Cooper's hat-trick against the Pumas showed there's plenty of life in the old dog yet, while fellow winger Drew Mitchell has notably improved his fitness, and almost scored one of the tries of the tournament. Fullback Israel Folau is yet to reach his potential this tournament, and his ankle still doesn't look right. But Cheika has nurtured Kurtley Beale, the team's one Aboriginal player, and Beale has been dazzling against England and Argentina.

7. As dangerous as the Wallabies back three will be, the All Blacks have the edge here. Who would have thought there'd probably be no room in the 23 for an incredible winger like Waisake Naholo? Julian Savea's Lomu-esque bounce gets a lot of attention. Nehe Milner-Skudder's almost physics-defying swoops and steps are equally capable of winning champion games. After Ben Smith's man-of-the-match performance against the Springboks, the peerless fullback told me he agrees: "Nehe's footwork is amazing. He keep defences guessing."

8. The most crucial, physical showdown will be between the mighty loose-forward trios. Michael Hooper, David Pocock and Scott Fardy versus Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read will be one for the ages. Pocock is an absolute dingo, his 14 turnover steals and full metal dynamism making a case for King of the Breakdown. On the other side, there's skipper McCaw, playing for Greatest Player of the Professional Era. During the middle of the challenging 2009 season, after the Springboks beat the All Blacks three times in a row, McCaw laid the famous black jersey in front of his men at an Auckland hotel and read them the riot act. "There've been some great men who spilt blood for this jersey, made sacrifices…The toughness, ruthlessness, power, pace. The want. That's got to come from within, the inner desire to spill some blood if that's what it takes." McCaw will lead his men for the last time with blood-spilling, all-consuming commitment.

9. The All Blacks also have the advantage over the Green and Golds with their bench – particularly as the game enters its exhausted final quarter. Not only can they replace Ma'a Nonu (or possibly Conrad Smith) with Sonny Bill Williams, but off the pine their embarassment of riches includes the likes of Beauden Barrett, Victor Vito, and Charlie Faumuina.

10. The semi-final victory over South Africa showcased the All Blacks ability to change their game plan. Expansive running flair against the French to a more conservative, tight game against the Springboks. Coming out of the tiring Pool of Life, Australia have also impressively executed a variety of approaches: different for England, Wales and Argentina. Whatever game plans they pick for Twickenham on Saturday, both the All Blacks and the Wallabies will be relentless and damn good, leaving everything between the white chalk lines. "Inches are all it will decided by," Conrad Smith, told me, evoking Al Pacino's take on the Antipodean neighbours' cracker of a 2011 semi-final. This time, both sides are on the brink of immortality: the first country to win the Rugby World Cup for a third time and, in New Zealand's case, the first team to go back-to-back, far from home.

Straight after the semi-final, an ashen-faced, very softly-spoken Springbok captain Fourie Du Preez told me he thinks the All Blacks will win on Saturday. "They've been the best team in the world for five years, and are playing like world champions," Du Preez says. I agree.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________