This week could be unpleasant for two New Zealand teams, as they steer down the barrel of two dangerous Australian sides - the Kangaroos, and the Aussie cricket team. While there shouldn't have be any worries for the All Blacks against Wales this weekend, the same can't be said for the Kiwis and the Black Caps, who by all accounts should be no trouble for their Aussie counterparts.

The Kiwis showed glimpses of brilliance against the English league side on their way to reaching the World Cup Final, but the Kangaroos have looked unstoppable in their four games thus far, including comfortably beating the Kiwis in week one. The Kangaroos have only had 16 points scored against them in four games, which is an outstanding achievement when you consider they've faced the Kiwis and England - the two sides who were supposed to be their biggest challenge. They would have to turn in a very terrible performance for the Kiwis to have any chance of beating them, and that's very unlikely at this stage.

The only thing in the Kiwis favour is that they've been involved in two very physical clashes with England over the last two weeks, which should have them prepared for a tough battle with the Aussies. The Aussies, on the other hand, haven't had anything even close to a challenge thus far, and if the Kiwis can manage to step up, the Kangaroos may not be as prepared for a close encounter. It's hard to see this happening though, to be fair...

These are the two best sides at this World Cup, and of all the teams represented the Kiwis probably have what it takes to beat the Aussies - but it's going to take an outstanding performance from every player on the field, because you know the Kangaroos will be ready to go. It's hard for us to say this, but we honestly believe the Kangaroos will run away with this one, and should be able to put 30 points on the Kiwis. But, you just never know - we could have another 2005 Tri Nations Final on our hands.

One can only hope.

The other big trans-Tasman clash sees the Black Caps face off against the Aussies, starting today in the first of two Tests. There's a lot of people out there who believe the Aussies are wounded after their disappointing efforts in India, and that the Black Caps have some hope of actually winning. Well, if there's one thing you should always be aware of it's a wounded Aussie - especially one like the Aussie cricket team.

It's hard to see the Aussies losing to the Black Caps, especially when you look at how they've played over the past month or so. They were below average in Bangladesh, and utterly abysmal against New South Wales in the build up to the first Test. If they play anything like that against Australia, they will be easily thrashed within three days. Like the Kiwis, the Black Caps will need all players to be at their best, and even then Australia should be too strong.

The Brisbane pitch looked like it was going to be bowler friendly, and the first day today proved that, with New Zealand bowling Australia out for just over 200. A great effort, but also a very dangerous sign for the Black Caps, as it's our batsmen who have been letting the side down recently. Brett Lee will be licking his lips at the prospect of finding some form against the Black caps batsmen in the morning.

The Black Caps need to go out and play with confidence, like they did today - and, most importantly, not let the occasion get the better of them. Otherwise, it's going to be a long trip for them. They saw how the Indians attacked the Aussie bowlers, and they need to do the exact same thing. Test matches are no longer the slow affairs that they use to be - if you can't score runs quickly, you're going to lose. The Black Caps need to move away from their current style of slow batting, and hopefully when we get a new coach we can start catching up with the rest of the cricketing world.

Until then, we predict a comfortable Australian victory in both Tests.

Oh well - at least we still have the All Blacks.