Australia v New Zealand is live on Sky Sports Action from 10.30am on Saturday
Thursday 16 August 2018 17:21, UK
As the southern hemisphere's finest prepare for battle in the Rugby Championship, we highlight some of the key players to keep an eye on.
New Zealand are the defending champions and the World Cup winners face a tough opener against Australia in Sydney in this weekend's opener, live on Sky Sports.
The All Blacks follow this with a return game against the Wallabies in Auckland as the champions attempt to win the competition for the third year in succession.
New Zealand again look the team to beat but which players are likely to be crucial to their chances of a successful title defence?
Kieran Read missed the vast majority of the Super Rugby campaign and the Test series against France after undergoing back surgery at the end of last year.
He only recently returned to action and wasted no time in producing dominant displays to help propel the Crusaders to their ninth Super Rugby title against the Lions.
Free of the physical restrictions imposed by his injury that were evident during the All Blacks' end of year tour, Read has been back to his game-changing best.
A tough nut to crack in defence and a brilliant link man in attack with enviable soft hands and epic offloads, according to Hansen he is not far off the kind of form that carried him to the World Rugby Player of the Year honour in 2013.
That ability to tap back into his best form after such a significant operation and ensuing lay-off has been incredible even for a player like Read, for who excellence has been second nature for so long.
His return to the All Blacks picture certainly offers stability and assurance but it remains to be seen if he can take the next step in his rehabilitation with what are sure to be ferocious back-to-back clashes against old foes Australia.
However, it is worth remembering Read went into last year's first Test against the British & Irish Lions with just three games all year under his belt - and no match time whatsoever in the preceding six weeks.
He went on to produce a brilliant individual display - arguably his best - to steer the All Blacks to a crucial victory.
Whitelock stands on the brink of a personal milestone with the New Zealand forward set to win his 100th cap. He is not short of career highlights though and this will be just the latest for the Crusaders lock.
He was named All Blacks captain for the first time in November 2017 against Wales before leading the side in their series win over France this summer.
Whitelock has yet to taste defeat in four matches as New Zealand captain as he deputised admirably in place of the injured Read.
During the 2017-18 season, Whitelock made 136 tackles for the All Blacks with a 92 per cent success rate which was the highest ratio in their team.
He has never lost a World Cup match, in 14 appearances, while he has an 89 per cent win record in Tests which is the best of any All Blacks forward to have played at least 50 matches.
The 29-year-old has been on the losing side only four times in 22 Bledisloe Cup contests and his experience at the highest level of the game is invaluable.
Whitelock's combination of power and skill marks him out as a key cog in the All Blacks' all conquering pack and he should play a significant role in their Rugby Championship defence.
Mo'unga is one of the brightest talents in New Zealand rugby and is seemingly poised to make a major mark on the international stage.
The 24-year-old Crusaders fly-half has barely 10 minutes of Test rugby under his belt having made his debut in the latter stages of the third Test victory over France in June.
However, he has turned up the heat on established All Blacks stars Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie by steering the Crusaders to back-to-back Super Rugby titles with their most recent success coming against the Lions in Canterbury earlier this month.
All Blacks boss Steve Hansen has attempted to play down expectation but Mo'unga's inclusion in the squad certainly hints that he plans on adding to his international experience.
A dominant Crusaders pack has certainly made life a little easier for Mo'unga who out-gunned Barrett and his Hurricanes cohorts in the Super Rugby semi-finals - having also guided his side to two victories over McKenzie and the Chiefs this season.
However, his own skill set is certainly not in doubt with his pace, footwork, vision, distribution and game-breaking ability a huge part of the Crusaders' success.
Question marks remain as to whether he can exert a similar level of performance and control in the Test match arena so all eyes will be on the headline-grabbing playmaker should he be handed the All Blacks' number 10 shirt or an extended run in that role.
He is all but assured another comfortable ride should that come to pass given the quality of the New Zealand pack - it just remains to be seen if Hansen is prepared to reward him for an outstanding domestic campaign and hand him the All Blacks reins.
