"The backline has come together and they have a truckload of experience in [George] Gregan, [Matt] Giteau, [Stirling] Mortlock and [Stephen] Larkham," said Eales, about the World Cup taking place in France from next month.

There is a growing belief within Australian circles that although New Zealand have been labelled favourites to claim the Webb Ellis trophy, they won't necessarily win the tournament.

"They [the All Blacks] have got more depth than any other team, but the World Cup is about winning games when they come up," he told to the New Zealand Herald.

"And the Wallabies can do that," Eales said, referring to the Big Match Temperament (BMT) that the Wallabies have become so famous for.

One certainly can't ignore the possibility that the two teams will in fact meet in a repeat of the 2003 semi-final, where the Wallabies emerged 22-10 victors.

Eales believes the Wallabies could cause a similar upset this year.

"They're starting to put things together and have built up their confidence," he said.

"And while the Wallabies have only won one of the five test matches against the All Blacks in the last year, they have competed in all of them. They had a chance at winning all those games," he told the Herald.

One thing Eales can't deny is that the Wallabies have a less than perfect record away from home. In the five years leading up to 2006 the Wallabies had only won two of their 20 games away from home. In 2007 they lost both their away matches in the Tri-Nations.

Eales said that while the Wallabies' away record was poor, it was merely a psychological hurdle that he thought Connolly's men could overcome.

"Everyone's got to overcome that," he said.

While he was clearly behind the Wallabies, Eales emphasised that there were many teams that could beat the All Blacks.

"South Africa have looked like they've done everything but win and Ireland last year looked like they could. France can beat anyone," Eales said.