There had been rumours that Folau was considering moving to the Australian Football League or rugby union; however, the selectors insisted he had been dropped for form reasons.

Manly centre Jamie Lyon was called up in Folau's place, and to act as goal-kicker due to Johnathan Thurston's injury-enforced absence.

[7][8] One of the notable selections was 19-year-old Kieran Foran being named as half back for the first time:[7] Commentators predicted he would be the long-term incumbent in the position, with former Australian halfback Andrew Johns suggesting he could become the best player in the world.

[16][17] New Zealand pulled back two unconverted tries through Jason Nightingale and Junior Sa'u; however, they were not able to make up the 12-point deficit, and Australia won the match 12–8.

After the match, New Zealand captain Benji Marshall claimed that his side was at least as good as the Australian team, citing that the difference in the scoreline was caused only by Australia's better goalkicking.

[16] Cameron Smith and Zeb Taia were both injured in the course of the match in tackles involving club teammates Adam Blair and Kurt Gidley respectively.