By Country / South Africa

The mighty All Blacks reclaimed the top spot in the world rankings after winning the tactical battle in a compelling trench-warfare-esque Tri- Nations tussle packed with plenty of crash, bang and wallop.

New Zealand's unbeaten run at home is up to 30 Tests and with forwards playing like backs, especially from the ruthless back-row behind the siege mentality of the second-row, they sent out a clear message to the world that they aren't just try-scoring specialists.

It was a huge statement from the fresh-looking All-Blacks who washed away the misery and disappointment of the World Cup, proving once again they are the masters of the four-year cycle.

Ali Williams was awarded a "nine out of ten" from Graham Henry. Limited training time courtesy of an ankle injury this week had put the feisty lock's position in doubt but like his towering stature, Williams led from the front, bossing the set-piece and providing a constant headache at the breakdown.

The intensity and empowering physicality reached boiling point as early as the fifth minute when Brad Thorn counted his lucky stars to stay on the pitch after a dangerous spear tackle on Springbok captain John Smit.

It was a striking difference from the drab one-sided summer tours against the northern hemisphere and at times, the south africans did well to live with the simmering All-Blacks.

History was being rewritten as the first international match under the ELVs and with the cold, wet and windy weather in addition to the raging fury of the players, mistakes were made, although it didn't devalue a fantastic Test

Bryan Habana lit up a bruising first half with a sensational finish after Jean de Villiers ran an intelligent line, shrugging off a weak Sitiveni Sivivatu tackle on half-way, before unleashing the fastest winger on the planet for his 31st try for the Boks and reduce the defecit to a single point at half-time.

Butch James took several chunks out of Dan Carter with a litter of aggresive high hits. Carter would have the final word, with a collection of magic touches and a crucial 14-point haul.

Carter conjured up the All-Blacks only score. Andy Ellis sniped around the fringes and a clever one-two with the fly-half opened up a half-chance outwide and a delayed pass from the silver surfer released the industrial Thorn who flicked a pass to number eight Jerome Kaino, who barged over from five metres.

Full of passion, dedication and skill, the ELVs couldn't overshadow a tremendous Test match that resembled a sumo-wrestle rather than a mass brawl. Roll on Dunedin.

Strolling into New Zealand as the best rugby side in the world is like walking into Roman Abramovich's office sticking down a blank cheque, how much are you worth?

New Zealand would claim to the best in the world even if they were ranked fourth. The same will be said by South Africans, even if they lose this weekend. Why? Because they won the World Cup. South Africa would swap everything, barring the Webb Ellis trophy for a win in Wellington this weekend.

In 86 years of competition, South Africa has only tasted victory on seven occasions in the Land of the Long White Cloud, three of which have come in Wellington with only one in the Tri-Nations era, in 1998.

The Springboks are noticeably confident of improving on that record. Looking at the stats and recent performances it's difficult to see why, but if they're in pugnacious mood their teeth are sharpened then they're a match for anyone.

England weren't much of a warm-up rolling over like filo pastry in both Tests, but their heavyweight front-row should give them superiority in the scrum, even if their line-out could struggle against the world's foremost artists in Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.

The new laws surrounding the quick throw-ins may offer a get-out clause and Mils Muliaina will undoubtedly get plenty of opportunities to run from deep.

The tackle area was the height of controversy during the Super 14 and the interest will be huge, if only from the bench. Considering the physical history between these two, resembling more like a street fight than a boxing brawl, the battle for supremacy could see more than the odd-trip to the blood-bin.

The weather forecasts similar baltic blowing gales that forced Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll to rethink about a trip to the sunbed instead of the ice-baths.

Selection has thrown up a thirsty pool of debate, notably Adi Jacobs at centre for the Boks and Andy Ellis at scrum-half for the All-Blacks.

Jacobs needs to prove he can step up in the big games while Ellis is not seen as a suitable replacement for Byron Kelleher or Justin Marshall, so he can go a long way to eradicating those critics if he staves off the dirty paws of Juan Smith and Schalk Burger.

It's a young bunch of All-Blacks but they've proven time and time again adapting to change is seemless and sophisticated.

The bonus for both sides is that they are both venturing into unknown territory, so this is merely a showcase of the future of international rugby. Yeah right!

Selection meetings for the Springboks must be quite fun with Pieter de Villiers in charge. Seemingly a 'yes' man, the new coach has borrowed a trick or two from Paul Daniels' repetoire, naming Joe Van Niekerk at No. 8.

South Africa fans are sickened that Luke Watson is in ahead of Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski. Adrian Jacobs has done well in attack, but questions marks remain against the big boys in attack, so it will be interesting to watch him tussle with Ma'a Nonu, especially after going missing in the Super 14 semi-final against the Waratahs.

There are worrying reports coming out of Wellington than Jacobs and Watson are already teachers pets, being favoured for their unfashionable reputation rather than obvious world class abilities, which Francois Steyn has in abundance. He's still a baby and has a World Cup winners medal, so he is primed for the big stage.

CJ Van de Linde and Guthro Steenkamp will front up, but the lack of BJ Botha, whom the kiwis rate higher than any other bruiser will have Messrs Woodcock and Somerville frothing at the mouth.

96-Test veteran Percy Montgomery is the master of close encounters. 'Monty' kicked them to World Cup glory after all, so Conrad Janties is a surprise, if purely for his limited defensive capabilities.

Pieter de Villiers. If you weren't already aware, the pressure of being the first black South African coach has just intensified. There hasn't been this much anticipation to a Test series since Martin Johnson's England turned up to New Zealand in 2003.

The Boks would've happily sold a toe for Jake White, so if the changes prompt a horror start and they find themselves 20-0 down after 15 minutes, then we'll see how valued the new coaches ideas are.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

South Africa: 37
Tries: J De Villiers 2, R Januarie, B Du Plessis
Cons: B James 4
Pens: B James 3

Wales: 21
Tries: G Cooper, S Williams
Con: S Jones
Pens: S Jones 3

Not this time, but Wales went a long way to eroding their nightmare week leading up to the second test defeat to South Africa by pushing an off-colour world champions all the way and had it not been for Stephen Jones' wayward boot, Warren Gatland could've masterminded another minor miracle in Pretoria.

A torried seven days started with a 43-17 hammering in Bloemfontein, after which the Welsh players were forced to board the same flight with their rivals - whoever sanctioned this probably isn't going to be in a job for much longer - but Ryan Jones' boys earned a hell of a lot of respect after walking with imposing physicality rather than just talking about how they were going to smash their opposition backwards.

Butch James was at the fulcrum, giving the Springboks plenty of go-forward where the forwards struggled to set a platform. Jean de Villiers scored the first, last and had a hand in Ricky Januarie's try in a fine all-round display, but Bismarck du Plessis' last minute score was slightly unfair on the 'Red Dragons.'

Wales' moment of magic for the umpteenth time came from the wizardry skills of Shane Williams, who won over many new fans in the Rainbow Nation with arguably his best ever touchdown. Bamboozling five defenders who didn't know whether they were turned left or right, the twinkle-toed wing dived over for a dazzling score that overshadowed another frustrating afternoon for Bryan Habana.