New Zealand has had a miserly grip on the Bledisloe Cup for more than a decade. They have won three of their last four against the Wallabies. The All Blacks are the world's benchmark and (for now) they deserve to be.
But who cares about past performances? This is a revitalized, rebooted and reinvigorated Australian side. This is the Wallabies 2.0.
Related reading
No looking back for Wallabies
At the heart of a great deal of this success has been spearhead and coach Michael Cheika who said on the eve of the World Cup decider -"if you keep looking back you are going to get a sore neck," and it's a sentiment shared Australia wide. The players, and crucially the fans, are ready to look forward and towards a new potential golden era in Australian Rugby Union.
There is a sense that victory is achievable for the Wallabies, who have hurled their bodies on the line all tournament. The gold jersey - so often doused with blood this campaign - has been a symbol of the team's desire to restore the Australian public's faith in running rugby. You only have to look at David Pocock who a week on still wears the battle scars of the semi-final, he and the 22 men alongside him are willing to pay the personal cost to achieve their goal.
While much has been made of Australia's defensive endeavours, they've also averaged more than four tries a game and aren't planning on tinkering with that formula. Russell Crowe's Gladiator wouldn't have to ask if we have been entertained. Australia has been - and one gets a feeling that wont change in the early hours of Sunday morning - win or lose.
David Pocock Source: AAP
To say the Wallabies players are one in a million sounds like hyperbole. But there is some truth to that as the Prime Minster, Malcolm Turnbull said on a social media post - "You will have a squad of 23 in London. But there is a squad of 23 million Australian's at home and around the world cheering for you."
There's no doubt Australia will head into the match in Twickenham as outsiders - Matt Giteau is the only Australian player who will take to the field who knows the buzz of a World Cup Final. He only ever tasted defeat - in a heartbreaking 2003 final at the hands of this year's tournament hosts England.
Conversely the All Blacks have ten players backing up from their triumph on home soil four years ago and the match is expected to double as an international swan song for Richie McCaw and Dan Carter - who have more than 250 test caps between them.
Related reading
Battle-hardened Wallabies primed for glory
And while Dan Carter was trying to deflect the attention in his final outing. "It is not about me. It is not about the boys playing their last game. It's about the guys playing in this World Cup side," the All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is well aware this match is bigger than any other the world class flyhalf has ever laced up for, "Yeah it is an important game but I don't think it will define his career. That has already been written in the history books."
No doubt grounding out a win against the world's best will be a tremendous ask. Australia has played knockout rugby since they touched down in England, working tremendously hard in escape the "group of death" - including a period where they only had 13 men on the field against Wales. Then there was their ice cool composure of their dead-eye marksman Bernard Foley against Scotland and a gutsy 23-man display over a rugged Argentina.
Now Australian rugby fans new (and there will be lots of them) and old, will have just eighty minutes to wait to discover if the attrition of the last six absorbing encounters have drained them or left them more battle hardened than ever.
This is one of a handfull of times in your life that you will regret hitting the snooze button. Get up and cheer on the men in gold.
