"Gordon vs Roigard" - 3 Key Battles: Wallabies vs All Blacks - Rugby Championship Round 6

Both South Africa and New Zealand picked up important wins across Round 5, to take a favourable spot ahead of the final round of the tournament. Rassie Erasamus' men hammered Argentina 67-30, with fly half Sacha Feinberg-Ngomezulu setting a new personal Springboks points record for a single test with 37. The All Blacks then bagged a tense 33-24 victory over a gutsy Australian side, with returning scrum half Cam Roigard bagging a brace to keep the Eden Park winning streak alive for a 52nd Test in a row.

Having hosted the Wallabies in their Auckland fortress, the All Blacks are back on the road this weekend with a trip to Perth. The Western Australia heartland will host a decisive clash in the Rugby Championship, as both New Zealand and Australia can mathematically still win the title - albeit whilst the odds heavily favour the Springboks, who take on Los Pumas in the Allianz Stadium. Once more, we take a look at three key battles, that could well prove decisive at the Optus Stadium, as the Wallabies host the All Blacks.

Our first key battle puts a focus upon two powerhouse wings, that are set to light up the touchlines of the Optus Stadium this Saturday. Adding extra intrigue into this key battle, is the fact that both Filipo Daugunu and Leicester Fainga'anuku are making a rare start for their respective nations. The two wings have not been involved in a starting Wallabies or All Blacks squad this year, with both flyers out to make their respective statements upon this Bledisloe Cup clash.

Daugunu is set to make his first Wallabies start of the year, as he holds down the golden 11 jersey this weekend. The Queensland Reds man has been steadily biding his time behind the likes of Corey Toole and Max Jorgensen, with Joe Schmidt unleashing Daugunu as an impact player thus far in the Rugby Championship. The Fiji-born flyer bagged a brace from the bench in Australia's dramatic defeat to Argentina in Sydney, which added fuel to the conversation around the need to start the Reds man.

Leicester Fainga'anuku stands across the touchline, with the wing set for his first taste of All Blacks action since the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Fainga'anuku's last appearence in the black jersey saw him bag a try in the World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland, before he was then dropped for the rest of the competition. Following New Zealand's heart-breaking defeat to South Africa in Paris, Fainga'anuku remained in France, and signed with RC Toulon to officially take him out of the All Blacks fold.

The 25-year-old bagged nine tries in his first Top 14 season, before adding a further seven scores in the latest campaign. Throw in two appearences for the Barbarians since his All Blacks departure, and Fainga'anuku has been relishing the opportunity to experience a variety of playing styles to broaden his horizons. The wing is now back in New Zealand and has been in stunning form for Tasman in the NPC, rightfully earning a return to Scott Robertson's side. Two wings with plenty to prove, the Daugunu vs Fainga'anuku showdown has boundless fireworks in store for Saturday.

When a monster among men meets one of rugby's hardest hitters, the entire stadium could be set to shift from an earth-shattering collision. In a modern day rugby landscape of towering locks and body-builder phisiques, Will Skelton is one of rugby's last true giants. The Wallabies second row stands at a staggering 6ft 8" tall, and with a billed weight of 135kg, it more often than not takes multiple men to bring the big man down.

Skelton returns to the Wallabies fold after a frustrating absence, having been stuck at club commitments with La Rochelle, due to the quirks of the international window. Ironically, La Rochelle's match against RC Toulon which ruled Skelton out of last week’s clash at Eden Park was postponed, leaving the towering lock watching the Bledisloe Cup opener from afar. Australia missed him badly, his set-piece presence and bruising defence were critical against both South Africa and the British & Irish Lions earlier this year.

Taking on Skelton in the set-piece contest is Scott Barrett, with the All Blacks captain returning to once again lead his side following a brief injury hiatus. Like Skelton, Barrett too sat out the opening Bledisloe Cup match, as a shoulder issue kept the Crusaders man at bay. The All Blacks have had rotten luck with injuries throughout the 2025 Rugby Championship, with Scott's brother Beauden Barrett, along with wing Caleb Clarke, and props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax all set to miss the final round of the tournament.

Scott Barrett returns to lead his side forward, with a solid, bonus-point win necessary if the All Blacks want to be in with a chance of lifting the title this Saturday. Fortune does favour the Springboks given their point advantage at the top of the table, with Barrett set to leave it all on the line against the Wallabies' one-man wrecking ball Will Skelton.

The third key battle of this Bledisloe Cup clash, witnesses the return of experienced Wallabies scrum half Jake Gordon. The halfback goes up against the hot-form of New Zealand's Cam Roigard, who made his own return from injury this past weekend at Eden Park.

Gordon is finally back in gold after a lengthy injury lay-off, following a hamstring injury he sustained against the British & Irish Lions, during the second test in Melbourne. The experienced 32-year-old has watched on from the side-lines, as Australia head coach Joe Schmidt called veteran scrum half Nic White back out from retirement and command the Wallabies back-line throughout the Rugby Championship.

Gordon has been thrust straight back into the starting XV, with new-coming halfback Ryan Lonergan named upon the bench for only his second Wallabies appearance. Lonergan became Wallaby No. 993 following his debut at Eden Park, with the experience of Gordon taking the mantle for the final round of the competition. Cam Roigard made the headlines from last weekend's Bledisloe Cup match, as the scrum half darted over for a brace of tries, which proved decisive against a resolved Wallabies outifit.

Roigard endured a foot stress fracture during the Summer, as he donned the nine jersey for the All Blacks trilogy against France. Roigard's issue began to worsen after the second Test, in which he bagged a try against Les Bleus as he played through the pain. This lead to the 24-year-old missing the start of the NPC season, before making his return to the pitch in Round 8 for Counties Manukau. Roigard wasted no time, as he grabbed a try upon his comeback match against Auckland, and was immedialty called back into the All Blacks fold for the end of the Rugby Championship.

Plenty of similarities between both Gordon and Roigard, as the two scrum halves look to gain regular footing with consistent performances after untimely injuries. Gordon has bountiful more experience than his All Blacks counterpart, although it could well come down to a burst of youthful exuberance that decides this Bledisloe Cup clash, with Roigard out for more tries against the Wallabies.