New Zealand have had their opponents' number in recent times, with Australia winning just one of the last 12 meetings, but Michael Cheika's side has built a wealth of momentum ahead of the showpiece finale.
Australia came out of the pool of death unscathed, while the All Blacks saw off France and South Africa in the knockout stages to earn a place in the final. It's the best team in the world against the second best team, and we look at five key points that are pivotal in the clash.
The obvious one, and the one that has drawn the most debate in world rugby. In Richie McCaw the All Blacks likely have the best openside flanker to ever play the game, but in Michael Hooper and David Pocock Australia have two of the best breakdown operators in the world today.
Cheika has employed them as a double act in the World Cup, opting to move Pocock to No 8 rather than splitting up his two favoured sons.
What formed was a ferocious pairing that plundered the breakdown throughout the pool stages and beyond, and it's a combination that All Black legend Jonah Lomu feels could be the deciding factor on Saturday.
"The difference at the moment is that New Zealand only have Richie McCaw in their back row, while Australia have Hooper and Pocock working together," said Lomu. "That gives them a different dimension at the breakdown.
"Their speed into the breakdown will give the All Blacks a real headache. It will be interesting to see how they deal with that.
"Australia playing two opensides in Pocock and Hooper is a real threat to the All Blacks."
The main focus in the lead up to the week has been around the fetchers, but former Toulon star and retired All Black Ali Williams feels the real battle is between Jerome Kaino and Scott Fardy.
"That's going to be the good one," said Williams. "It's contact vs contact.
"Both guys are hard-nosed, and they're the ones that apply that physical edge for their team. So that's going to be a great battle."
The two blindside flankers have been the unsung heroes of their sides' respective campaigns, performing the unglamorous tasks that have allowed the backs to grab the headlines.
Kaino leads New Zealand for tackles made in the tournament with 48, while Fardy is second behind Kane Douglas in the Australian side, and sixth in the overall standings.
The pair will be tasked with building the platform at the ruck, seeing off defenders while McCaw and Pocock try to slow the ball down or steal it from the opposition.
Pocock, McCaw and Hooper may be the first names on every casual fan's lips this weekend, but Fardy up against Kaino is a showdown for the purists of the game.
Rumours circulated that Michael Cheika has refused to refer to the New Zealand team as the All Blacks in order to strip Hansen's men of the aura associated with their nickname.
It's a ploy that backfired for Clive Woodward, who reportedly didn't want to add to the myth of his 2005 Lions' opponents while in New Zealand. Woodward only succeeded in angering the hosts, who took their frustration out on the Lions in a 3-0 series win.
Reports of Cheika's desire to follow the same path originated from the New Zealand press, who claim that a social media post from the ARU used the term All Blacks before disappearing and reappearing with New Zealand instead of the All Blacks used in the wording.
However the rumours were laughed off by Cheika this week, who claimed that he never refers to teams by their nicknames.
"People have had a bit of a crack at me, thinking that I don't say that for a certain reason," said Cheika.
"But it's pretty funny because, if you notice, I never call Australia the Wallabies either. I'm really a bit old-fashioned in that way.
"It's a battle between nations on this stage. There's no secret squirrel."
Three months ago neither Dan Carter nor Bernard Foley was assured of a starting place in their respective sides. Quade Cooper was picked to start for the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship and Dan Carter was seemingly unable to find his normally lofty form following a return from injury.
But both brushed aside any loss of confidence as Foley single-handedly dismantled England at Twickenham to send them crashing out the World Cup, and Carter guided his side into the semi-final with a masterclass against France in Cardiff.
The two now face off for only the second time on the international stage, with Foley coming out on top in their previous meeting as Australia ran out 27-19 winners in Sydney earlier in the year.
The pair are in the top five for points scored overall by individuals in the tournament, with Foley's 75-point total earning him fourth place and Carter's 63-point haul getting him one place behind.
Carter and Foley are thoroughbred fly-halves, capable of kicking goals while also happy to run the ball at the opposition, and both are central to the hopes of their teams - but who will reign supreme at Twickenham?
This week it was announced that Steve Hansen and Michael Cheika have been shortlisted for the World Rugby Coach of the Year award along with Daniel Hourcade of Argentina and Eddie Jones of Japan.
Hansen has enjoyed a superb tenure in charge of the All Blacks, losing only three Tests since his appointment on the back of the 2011 World Cup. Cheika came into the Wallaby fold on the back of a blot on the record books of Australian rugby after Ewen McKenzie stood down amid scandal and speculation while players ran amok.
One of the key ingredients to Hansen's success is the fact that his All Blacks are centrally contracted, which gives him influential say on the welfare of his players even when they are turning out for their clubs rather than the national side.
Cheika on the other hand convinced the ARU to relax a law that dictated overseas-based players could not be selected. Under the new regulation - dubbed Giteau's Law - he could call upon Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell from France, both of whom have proven invaluable to the Wallaby cause in the tournament.
Hansen and Cheika represent what is possible when a coach is given full backing by those in charge of hiring him.
With Stuart Lancaster unable to select overseas-based players, the rich benefit of a coach being able to pick the best players available to him will be on full display at Twickenham at 4pm as two of world rugby's great thinkers collide.
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith; 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith; 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea; 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Joe Moody, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Owen Franks; 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Sam Whitelock; 6 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 8 Kieran Read.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Kane Douglas, 5 Rob Simmons, 6 Scott Fardy, 7 Michael Hooper, 8 David Pocock.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.
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