It has taken much longer than most people expected but finally Australia and New Zealand will face each other in the Rugby World Cup final after the Wallabies defeated Argentina 29-15 in the second semi-final at Twickenham on Sunday.
Bitter rivals on any field, Australia and New Zealand have met each other in a host of finals in other sports but rugby has been the odd one out until now.
In March this year, the two countries clashed in the Cricket World Cup final for the first time. They also played each other in the netball World Cup final in August, the fifth time in a row they had met in the decider, and in each of the last three Rugby League World Cup finals.
In all three sports, the Australians won the most recent finals.
The All Blacks and Wallabies have been the most successful countries at the World Cup, with either one of the South Pacific neighbours appearing in six of the previous seven finals.
But until now they have never gone head-to-head for the biggest prize in rugby, an anomaly partly caused by scheduling, but also because one of them always slipped up.
On three occasions, the draw has dictated that they would not meet in the final so they have come together in the semis.
In 1991, Australia beat New Zealand in Dublin, then went on to win the final a week later. In 2003, the Wallabies won again, in Sydney, but lost the final to England.
Four years ago, the All Blacks won in Auckland and went on to defeat France in the decider after Australia lost their pool game against Ireland and ended up in New Zealand’s half of the draw.
Even when the schedule has been in their favour, the rugby gods have not. Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1987 and seemed certain to meet in the final after both sailed into the semis.
But after leading three times in their match against France, the Wallabies were beaten right at the death and had to watch on as the All Blacks won the title a week later.
The Wallabies won the second World Cup in 1991 but did not make it past the quarter-finals in 1995. New Zealand did reach the final but lost to South Africa in extra-time.
In 1999, the stars seemed aligned for an Australia-New Zealand final after the Wallabies beat the Springboks in extra-time in the first semi at Twickenham.
The All Blacks were overwhelming favourites to beat France in the second semi and looked to be in total control when they led 24-10 before the match suddenly turned around and Les Bleus piled on 33 points to pull off one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history.
Unable to repeat that performance a week later, the French lost the final to Australia, who became the first country to win the World Cup twice.
The Wallabies almost won a third title at home in 2003 but were sunk by a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal in the last minute of extra-time in the final against England.
The 2007 World Cup was a wipeout for both Australia and New Zealand and is the only time a final has been played without either of the two southern hemisphere giants.
Neither even made the semis with both countries being eliminated in the quarter-finals, within hours of each other. The Wallabies fell to England in a match decided by another Wilkinson drop goal and New Zealand went down to France again.
It may have taken 28 years to come to fruition but now the stage has been set for their ultimate battle.