Much as last week it seems that New Zealand have once again been underrated by the layers. New Zealand looked a solid handicap bet against South Africa and they appear to be worth another investment at odds against on the 10.5 handicap line when they take on Australia at Eden Park this Saturday.

Although this year's Tri-Nations has an air of experimentation about it, the Bledisloe Cup goes back 80 years and the clash in Auckland, the scene of this year's Rugby World Cup final, will not be taken lightly by either side.

Both coaches, Robbie Deans and Graham Henry, have named strong squads, with Henry selecting the oldest All Black XV in Test history. With the run-on team boasting a combined age of 433, it eclipses that of Clive Woodward's 'Dad's Army' that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

With such experience on show it seemed hardly necessary for Steve Hansen, New Zealand's assistant coach, to have a chat with the squad about what the Bledisloe Cup means to them this week. "It's got history, there's no doubt about that," he told them. "This team's built on history, it's built on a legacy, and it's just like family - you talk about things that happened in the past and where you'd like to go in the future. That's all we do too."

What is firmly in the history books is that if New Zealand win this match they retain the Bledisloe for the ninth consecutive year. They will also preserve a winning streak at Eden Park that has stood firm for 17 years against a side that has not won in New Zealand for ten years.

Despite the stakes, this is a match that will not take long to get going. Both teams have a habit of starting matches quickly. Last weekend, the All Blacks scored two tries inside the first quarter in their 40-7 defeat of the Springboks, but it was the touchdown of Zac Guilford that was of most interest.

Guilford's try in the 14th minute highlights just how good Dan Carter's game management is at the moment, and why with him pulling the strings in this sort of form New Zealand are virtually unstoppable. Carter made 34 passes in Wellington. He acted like an automaton for much of the first quarter, simply moving the ball on to his centres like a conveyor belt. Then, he suddenly flicked the switch. He let the South African defence routinely drift and a moment later he threaded a kick through their defensive line for Ma'a Nonu to gather and set up the recycle. From there, he took several defenders with him, including Springbok skipper John Smit, and then offloaded to Guilford to score his first Test try. "I think I may owe him a few beers," Guilford said afterwards. If Carter leads New Zealand to their first World Cup success for 25 years in October he will never have to buy a drink again.

Carter's defensive skills are rarely mentioned, but he made 11 tackles last week, level with is captain, Richie McCaw. To show how influential both players are to the All Black cause the rest of the squad made only 75 tackles between them.

We all know about the threat that Carter and McCaw pose, but Corey Jane's first try in the 32nd minute last Saturday showed that the All Blacks can penetrate from anywhere on the pitch. Where Martin Johnson's England generally rely on building pressure in hope, rather than expectation, that teams will crack Henry can rely on several game-changers to instigate momentum. Sure England have Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs to increase tempo, but it is only recently that the squad have come to demand from them the sort of brilliance that Jane displayed. If you missed it, watch the highlights here.

Of course, Australia have a backline to die for too, but without the platform to operate. Deans beasted his front row for over two hours in Southport School on the Gold Coast this week, putting his first-choice eight in repeated pack downs against the reserves. By all accounts it was brutal, and it underlines just how much work Deans believes his forwards need to reach any sort of parity against their trans-Tasman rivals.

The 39-20 defeat of a Springboks B side in round one of this year's tournament was no more than Australia were entitled to. A win by around 12-15 points is what New Zealand are entitled to this week by my calculations so it might be worth backing them to win by more than 12.5 points in the winning margin market at around 2.3 on betfair.