A final decision on whether Richie McCaw fronts against Australia in the Bledisloe Cup rugby test on Saturday will be made by the injured All Blacks captain himself.
All Blacks team named today to play Australia in the Bledisloe Cup/Tri Nations rugby test in Sydney on Saturday:
Australia's rugby media has heaped more praise on Wallabies coach Robbie Deans as the countdown begins to the All Blacks' arrival.
Wallabies rugby great Nick Farr-Jones is staggered by the lingering ill-feeling towards All Blacks coach Graham Henry, and expects many New Zealanders will "death ride" them to lose the Bledisloe Cup test on Saturday.
The Australian rugby team will pay tribute to Signaller Sean McCarthy, the New Zealand-born, Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan, at its Tri-Nations match in Perth this weekend.
South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins doubted the fairness of the Sanzar judiciary after Bismarck du Plessis was banned for three weeks.
Uncapped hooker Adriaan Strauss was summoned to replace the suspended Bismarck du Plessis on Sunday as South Africa announced injured captain John Smit was sidelined for the rest of rugby's Tri-Nations.