Alas, Australia all signs point to an All Blacks win Paul Cully COMMENT T he All Blacks will win by less than a converted try, by even fewer if Bernard Foley - who is the real key, even more than David Pocock - ignites, but by 15 points plus if the Waratahs No.10 is merely satisfactory. That is how the World Cup final will unfold.
Alas, all romance was used up by the Japanese early on. Hard heads and pragmatism have ruled since then. The Argentinians didn't note the change of mood in the semi- final and imploded. New Zealand, by contrast, appear to be all business. 
The Wallabies certainly have a chance, a genuine one. Their scrum, with Scott Sio restored, may well get the nudge on their counterparts. Of all the wingers on display I would nominate All Blacks No.14 Nehe Milner-Skudder as the most likely to be exposed defensively. But any sense of optimism would be so much greater had the All Blacks' medical staff failed to get so many of their key men to the starting line.
Two years ago, I would have given the Kiwis no chance of managing Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, and Jerome Kaino through to the big show, while concussion issues also stalked Kieran Read for a while. Yet here they are, some past their best but still influential (Mealamu), others in the best form for years (Nonu), and others heading back towards their 2011 peak (Kaino). And without Carter the All Blacks wouldn't even be in the final, his sideline conversions and drop goal against the Springboks in the rain essentially the difference between the sides.
Collectively, they form a group of players who can be best summed up by one word: pressure. They have grown used to playing with it, and used to imposing it on opponents. Perhaps the odd referee or two has felt it too.
Others in the group are also winners. Ben Smith co-captained the Highlanders to a Super Rugby title earlier this year, while Aaron Smith pulled the strings from halfback. Success follows Sonny Bill Williams around too often for it to be a coincidence. There isn't the flakiness of previous All Blacks sides, no Carlos Spencer to throw the hero pass, no Leon MacDonald playing out of position at No.13.
In the pack Sekope Kepu and Sio are both better ball carriers than their opposites, but that advantage is wiped out by Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock's superiority over Kane Douglas and Rob Simmons around the park. Their ability to generate front-foot ball in the centre of the field is so crucial to how the All Blacks like to spread their most damaging runners across both sides of the ruck. The blindside is the danger side for the Wallabies' defence. Strategically, what the All Blacks bring compared with the likes of England is like setting a diamond beside a lump of coal and arguing they are the same thing. After 50 minutes they have the capacity to change the game completely by bringing on players such as Williams, Beauden Barrett and Charlie Faumuina.
For the Wallabies, it will be fascinating to see at what point Kurtley Beale is injected. I am not among the optimists when it comes to Israel Folau's medical updates.
He doesn't look out of form, he looks hurt. He was clutching at an ankle before being hastily replaced last week, barely able to hop back into the defensive line.
One positive theory goes that the Wallabies' combination of Pocock and Michael Hooper is unplayable, and it was an act of genius to play them together in the first Bledisloe Test in Sydney but not the following week in Auckland. It's enticing but even that comes with a caveat.
Pocock actually played the second half of the Auckland Bledisloe in tandem with Hooper, when the score blew out from 13-6 after the first 40 minutes to 41-13 as Quade Cooper was sent to the naughty bin.
The Wallabies caught out the All Blacks once this year - twice would be rare indeed.