Australia v New Zealand: rugby predictions, where to watch and free tips

Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Australia v New Zealand in the Rugby Championship.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Arena, 8.45am Saturday

Best bet

New Zealand -14
2pts 10-11 bet365

Match preview

Australia suffered a record 43-5 defeat to old rivals New Zealand in Sydney last weekend, and even a much-changed All Blacks line-up look good to repeat the dose in Saturday's Brisbane rematch.

Coach Ian Foster said earlier in the week he was ready to ring the selection changes, but New Zealand's remarkable squad depth means weak spots are hard to find in any team they name.

Akira Ioane makes his debut in the back row and there are three more uncapped players on the bench, but elsewhere all the players coming in are pretty familiar names.

Half-backs Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga get a week off, but regular back-up TJ Perenara comes in at scrum-half and Beauden Barrett moves from full-back to fly-half, and that's a world-class pairing, with a strong backline outside them.

Meanwhile there's no end to Australia's half-back issues as James O'Connor and Matt Toomua remain injured and teenager Noah Lolesio, who couldn't make an impression last week, is dropped to the bench.

In a surprise move Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has selected Reece Hodge to start at number ten. The Melbourne utility back has 42 caps to his name but all bar one in the centre or on the wing - his only appearance at fly-half was against Japan three years ago.

Last week's heavy defeat was tough on Lolesio and any player would have struggled to get his team going against such a strong All Blacks performance.

Australia can take some hope from their record in Brisbane - of the six meetings at the Suncorp Stadium this century they've won two, including the most recent in 2017 - and drawn one, while their three defeats have been by one, four and four points.

But that's all in the past and on the day a handicap in the mid-teens looks more than manageable for a strong All Black outfit.

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