Rugby: Tri-Nations set for Sydney kickoff

SYDNEY: Three months late and one team down in the absence of the Springboks, the southern hemisphere's annual test championship finally gets underway in Sydney on Saturday when Australia face New Zealand in front of a crowd of up to 40,000.

New Zealand will start as favourites, as they usually do, although Australia will approach the tournament with renewed confidence after the first two Bledisloe Cup tests against the All Blacks earlier this month. As it is every year, the Bledisloe Cup will be a keenly contested competition within a competition and regaining the symbol of trans-Tasman Sea rugby supremacy for the first time since 2003 would be a huge boost for the Australian game.Five years of struggle off and on the pitch have taken a big toll on the game and Rugby Australia will be hoping fans turn out in big numbers for the six tests to help fill their coffers, which took another hit when the reigning champions withdrew.

Also under a new coach in Ian Foster, the notoriously slow-starting All Blacks really hit their straps with three tries in 15 minutes to open the second half against the Wallabies two weeks ago in Auckland.

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