The game was originally scheduled to be played in AMI Stadium in Christchurch but was moved because of the damages from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake.

[1] New Zealand were given a chance by some pundits considering that they had beaten Australia in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final and in the 2010 Four Nations.

*Replaced originally selected David Shillington who withdrew due to injury.

New Zealand were criticized after the game for their unforgiving error rate, most notably for a period in the second half where five consecutive New Zealand errors allowed Australia to score two tries to secure their win.

[4][5] New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney said after the game "It seems a bit same old, same old – but I know we're taking steps in the right direction.