In an ideal world, World Cup finals would feature the best two teams in the tournament; fortunately, today's climax at Old Trafford features just that, Australia v New Zealand.

Many factors have conspired against this tournament capturing the sporting public's imagination in Britain: severe bad weather, mass disruption to the rail network and petrol blockades have all played their part.

Even more serious has been the poor performance of the England team, beaten 22-2 in their opening match by Australia and thrashed 49-6 in their semi-final by New Zealand.

There have been few close matches involving the Anzac duo, although that was partly remedied by a magnificent display from unheralded Wales. In their semi-final they led Australia 20-8 before a patched-up team finally lost 46-22.

Only the most partisan Australia fan would want to see the 7 to 1 on favourites crush the Kiwis, especially as it will be Frank Endacott's last game in charge of New Zealand.

The 52-year-old bows out as national coach after seven years to concentrate his efforts on bringing back the good times to English club Wigan and would love nothing more than to finish on a high.

"It's my 35th Test match and the biggest of them all," he said. "It would be a nice way to go out if we win it. There are several players and myself who aren't going to be there for another one, so it's our last chance," he said.

"We want to win this one more than any other match we've played against Australia."

The world champions have made several changes from their semi-final line-up. Newcastle Knights utility back Adam MacDougall takes over from the injured Ryan Girdler. MacDougall moves from the wing to replace Girdler, who had to undergo shoulder surgery.

Mat Rogers and Andrew Johns will start after being rested for the semi-final. Rogers takes over from MacDougall on the wing and Johns replaces Craig Gower at hooker.

Endacott, however, has played down fears of a bloodbath, insisting that the clash of the two finest teams promises to provide a classic. "We're not expecting a boxing match," he said. "We're not there to do a David Tua, we're there to play rugby league and I know the Australians are too."

By Thursday just 36,000 tickets out of an Old Trafford capacity of 67,000 had been sold, but tournament organisers are still expecting a record profit of more than £2.6 million sterling.