Australia and New Zealand Do Battle in the Air Ahead of Rugby World Cup Final

The rivalry between the All Blacks and the Wallabies is among the fiercest in sport.

Understandably then, tensions are reaching new heights just hours out from the biggest match ever to be played between the two sides.

Fans of the victorious nation will hold bragging rights for the next four years, while the loser will be tormented by friends from across the ditch until the two sides meet in Japan in 2019. Needless to say, the importance of Sunday morning's game is immeasurable to the diehard supporters of both sides.

The stakes for some however, are slightly higher than others.

Rival airline sponsors Air New Zealand and Qantas entertained an initially light-hearted swapping of banter on social media after the former proposed an "Airline Wager" to their Aussie counterparts. But tensions soon rose between the two aviators.

Shots fired. However Qantas came out of the blocks with just as much force.

Air New Zealand quickly returned serve, commenting on the pace of the Aussies.

"@Qantas No thanks - we wouldn't want to slow our planes down. You know... with all that extra paint. Leave it with us. #AirlineWager #NZLvAUS," a Twitter comment said.

Qantas hid no emotion in their reply.

"@FlyAirNZ We wouldn't think you'd be in a hurry to get here when you lose. Keep in touch. #AirlineWager #NZLvAUS."

The contest lay dormant for a few hours, as it seemed the Aussies had managed the final word. But typical of the Kiwis, they refused to lie down, suggesting Qantas staff will need to ready their All Blacks jerseys for flight on Monday.

In typical Aussie fashion, the Wallabies sponsor airline accepted the challenge.

Game on.

It will be interesting to see how big an order of Wallabies jerseys Asics can get shipped to the Kiwi Isles in time for flight first thing Monday morning.