Of course, it still matters. The Bledisloe Cup may no longer be an issue, but every sporting contest between Australia and New Zealand matters. Of course, both sides will be striving to win.

Both sides have had wonky seasons and have come under public scrutiny.

Australia have had a wonkier season and have come under greater scrutiny, and present are all the ills attendant on failure - despondency, bickering, diminished spectators at grounds and on TV, diminished revenue and, possibly, lost sponsors. Losing is bad.

New Zealand, if less scathed but not untouched, also has run into troubled waters but, with less competition from other activities, it survives stronger, but there is pressure on both sides in Tokyo for this Bledisloe Cup match, the fourth of 2009.

Not that winning or losing will change the ownership of the big trophy. It stays with New Zealand who have won three times this year and are on the brink of a whitewash of their neighbours. New Zealanders would like that; the competitive Australians would want to ward that off.

Both countries will want to shrug off the disasters of the Tri-Nations. The All Blacks were whitewashed by the Springboks and in turn whitewashed the Wallabies whose only win was, ironically in the context of the competition, over the Springboks.

It will be a contest.

It will even be a contest between the two sets of coaches. As is the way with modern, professional sport, coaches are under more pressure than players, and here we have two New Zealanders, once colleagues but now rivals, both under pressure, in separate corners. They do not say nasty things about each other but the pressure on each is more like to sharpen the rivalry than sheath the swords.

New Zealand go into the contest looking stronger. Go down the two lists man for man and the All Blacks look stronger. Go down units and it's somehow not quite the same. The All Blacks perhaps win the back three, the reconstituted Wallaby front row is no longer a wobbly, fall-down brigade and may well get the better of the match and then there will be the battle of the loose trios, each threesome a blend of strength and skill.

But really so much depends on winning primary possession and the quality of that primary possession. In the first two Tests between the two countries this year, the New Zealand line-out was poor but it was much better in Wellington. In all three Tests the scrums were a mess. This time New Zealand have five men of ability in the line-outs, which should help Andrew Hore. It may just be that it is in the scrums that the Wallabies will seek to dominate.

Players to watch: There are lots to watch. Will Mils Muliaina and Richie McCaw rise to their former greatness? Will Rodney So'oialo return eager to prove that he should never have been away or will he prove that he is a spent force? Will Adam Ashley-Cooper force holes in the All Black defence? Will Sitiveni Sivivatu and Digby Ioane find the freedom to go on their mazy runs? Sivivatu is always exciting. There is excitement in the air whenever the ball heads his way. As well all know kicking counts. Both flyhalves - Matt Giteau and Dan Carter - have an excellent variety of kicks.

Head to Head: There is a close battle of great interest - the wholehearted veteran Richie McCaw against the fearless David Pocock who has kept the great George Smith out of the side. That will be a great and perhaps decisive battle, especially if the two packs weigh up well against each other. The other two flanks are also interesting - tall men in the line-outs, ball carriers - Rocky Elsom with the determined look and Adam Thomson with the deceptively puzzled look. The other great area of contest will be at halfback and in the centres. Will Genia was certainly an improvement at scrumhalf but he, novice that he is, will be up against combative Jimmy Cowan. Then each camp would claim its flyhalf the best in the world - Dan Carter for New Zealand and Matt Giteau for Australia. Both have lost some shine this year - Carter coming back from injury and Giteau in a beaten side. They would both want the return of their smooth effectiveness of the past. Then there are the two tall men opposite each other - Ryan Cross of Australia and Conrad Smith of New Zealand - Cross perhaps more aggressive, Smith more skilful.

Results this century
2009: New Zealand won 33-6 at Westpac Trust, Wellington
2009: New Zealand won 19-18 at ANZ Stadium, Sydney
2009: New Zealand won 22-16 at Eden Park, Auckland
2008: New Zealand won 19-14 at Hong Kong Stadium
2008: New Zealand won 28-24 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
2008: New Zealand won 39-10 at Eden Park, Auckland
2008: Australia won 34-19 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2007: New Zealand won 26-12 at Eden Park, Auckland
2007: Australia won 20-15 at Cricket Ground, Melbourne
2006: New Zealand won 34-27 at Eden Park, Auckland
2006: New Zealand won 13-9 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
2006: New Zealand won 32-12 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
2005: New Zealand won 34-24 at Eden Park, Auckland
2005: New Zealand won 30-13 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2004: Australia won 23-19 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2004: New Zealand won 16-7 at Westpac Trust, Wellington
2003: Australia won 22-10 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2003: New Zealand won 21-17 at Eden Park, Auckland
2003: New Zealand won 50-21 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2002: Australia won 16-14 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2002: New Zealand won 12-6 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
2001: Australia won 26-29 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2001: New Zealand won 23-15 at Carisbrook, Dunedin

iafrica.com Prediction: It's nobody's home match, this third time that the two teams meet in neutral ground - once in Ireland when the Wallabies won, once in Hong Kong when New Zealand won and now in Tokyo. Home ground will not be a factor, nor it seems will weather. Psychology is always a factor. The last time the teams met the All Blacks dished out a hiding - 33-6 and since then the pressure on the whole Wallaby outfit has increased, causing, if talk is true, cracks in several places. A lot will depend on Rocky Elsom and Matt Giteau to produce an confident and united team. Our prediction is a victory for New Zealand by 10 points or more.

Teams:

Australia: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 George Smith, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Drew Mitchell, 22 Quade Cooper.

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Tamati Ellison.

Date: Saturday, 31 October 2009
Kick-off: 17.35 (08.35 GMT)
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
Expected weather conditions: Clear with scattered clouds later and with a high of 22?C, dropping to 20?C and a light westerly wind
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Television match official: Akihisa Aso (Japan)
Assessor: Bob Francis (New Zealand)