NSW Waratahs' season in the balance after loss to Hurricanes
All Blacks representatives Cory Jane and Daryl Gibson say the poor form of Australian Super Rugby franchises will matter very little when the two countries compete for the Bledisloe Cup. 
After one of the worst weekends for Australian rugby in recent memory, here are a few sobering statistics to highlight the gulf between Australian sides and their New Zealand counterparts. 
If the Brumbies lose their final game and the Blues beat NSW with a bonus point, all five Kiwi teams will finish on more points than Australian franchises. 
Australian sides have lost 20 out of 24 fixtures to Kiwi teams this year - there was also a draw between the Reds and Blues - scoring just 444 points to 827 all up. 
The Rebels and Force have lost every game by a combined margin of 23 points, while the Brumbies, who are favourites to top the Australian conference, were beaten on three occasions by 25 points or more and have a for and against of -47 against Kiwi sides. 
By comparison, the Waratahs (-14), Reds (-92), Force (-95) and Rebels' (-135) numbers do not make for pretty reading either. 
In the last six seasons Australia has fielded five teams, only on two occasions have all five lost every game in a round. It happened in round nine last year but did not compare to this weekend's bloodbath in which Australian sides lost by margins of 25, 45, 59, 11 and 19 points. 
The Waratahs' 45-25 win over the Chiefs, Brumbies' round-one thrashing of the Hurricanes and Queensland's remarkable one-point win against the Highlanders are three rare highlights in what has been a horror year for the Australians. 
These terrible results have raised concerns about whether this form will transfer to the international arena when the Wallabies tackle the All Blacks in   August.
Gibson, a former All Black himself, disagrees, saying the Australian slump is "cyclical" and argued there was no need to panic. 
He also made the point the Brumbies and Waratahs were there in last year's Super Rugby semi-finals.
"In the last few years Australia and New Zealand have been very close, so it'll swing," Gibson said. "At the moment New Zealand teams are playing with a game style that's troubling Australian defences for whatever reason.
"They're playing with a lot more unstructured, tackle offload continuity type game and they have the ability to keep the ball alive which is certainly proving to be a real dividend for the New Zealand teams and they're doing it well.
"Right now the scoreboard's not lying. I think we've got to look at our own strengths. We can't afford to be going and copying different game styles. Different styles have their time and if you get good at them you can win rugby. That style's pretty dominant."
After the Wallabies' 3-0 drubbing at the hands of England in the   June Test window, few pundits will give Michael Cheika's side a chance of lifting the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.
And below-par performances at Super Rugby level will do little to instil faith in Wallabies hopefuls, however 53-Test All Black and Hurricanes winger Jane says what goes on at club level has no bearing on Test match results.
"It doesn't mean anything when it comes to Test match rugby," said Jane after the Hurricanes' fourth win against an Australian side this year.
"It's a different team, different ball game. Whether it's a South African team, Aussie team or New Zealand team dominating or playing poor, once they put that Test jersey on it's completely different. When you move on from Super Rugby to Test matches it's completely different. The Wallabies will be the usual Wallabies."
Gibson agrees: "I think it's a different ball game. We saw that in the Test matches; England playing a game style that proved to be a winning one. For me, you've got to get good at what you do and know what can beat you."