Summary
With that, it’s probably time for me to sign-off. I’ll see you back here next Saturday for Bledisloe II from Perth.
And after that, the victorious New Zealander is handed the Bledisloe Cup and invited to celebrate with his teammates.
Now it’s All Blacks skipper Ardie Savea’s time to say a few words:
Credit to Harry and his men tonight. We got off to a good start. And we know the Aussies. They they never give up. And they keep coming and coming. And it’s a testament to them. But also proud of our boys for sticking in.
I think the pressure is a privilege. We’re All Blacks and we have the honour and opportunity to put this jersey on and play in front of our team and our nation, and that’s the responsibility we have. You embrace it.
We won the first game and then you know we haven’t quite got there in the second. And we know Australia’s a quality side and it’s going to be another big one next week. So you know we’ll enjoy tonight and then reset and try and go again next week.
Harry Wilson has done his duty as the vanquished skipper:
It’s obviously disappointing to miss out on the Bledisloe for another year, but credit to New Zealand, they outplayed us tonight. We gave ourselves an opportunity there… we’re definitely on the right path but we just can’t keep giving teams head starts. The Rugby Championship is still alive, so there’s a lot for us to play for next week.
We know our game very well. We’re really close unit as you probably see on the field. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a team this close, and I think you see it out there on the field. And for us this is another learning and we’re going to be a lot better next week.
The Wallabies remain impossible to appraise. Do you give more credence to a 12th defeat in 19 matches, or how they almost backed up victory in Johannesburg with a heist in Auckland? Do you marvel at the second-half resilience or lose patience at the awful openings? Do you give credit to the growing number of creditable squad members, or shake your head at the inability to bed in combinations – especially in the halves?
That was an even contest decided more by moments than any great gulf in class. Yet again Australia conceded a heavy early deficit, and yet again they staged a rousing comeback, but for the second match in a row they left themselves too much to do.
At their best, which they were for a 15 minute spell in the first half, the All Blacks looked awesome. Outside of that they looked vulnerable, attacking with isolated runners, and losing discipline defensively when Australia entered multi-phase play.
The Wallabies will fancy their chances in Perth, especially with Will Skelton back in the mix.
52 games and counting for the All Blacks at Eden Park. The Wallabies still haven’t won here since 1986. The Bledisloe Cup will remain in Kiwi hands, as it has since 2003.
Full-time: New Zealand 33-24 Australia
The All Blacks beat the Wallabies at Eden Park.
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79 mins: McKenzie slaps a massive kick into touch on the left. 10m out the lineout is tipped off the top and New Zealand get to work infield. The ball returns to the short side with Tuipulotu and Rakai but the Wallabies defend resolutely. Into phase nine with Jordan now trying to tiptoe through the line. Then it all ends with a whimper as McKenzie knocks-on at his bootlaces.
77 mins: Scrum penalty All Blacks on halfway. Australia have been valiant this afternoon but their Eden Park drought will continue.
CONVERTED TRY! New Zealand 33-24 Australia (Roigard, 75)
The best player on the field has just ensured the Bledisloe Cup will remain in New Zealand a little while longer. From the drop-out the ball is sent infield and the All Blacks attack with intent. A lovely interchange between J Barrett, Tupaea, and Roigard, surgically unpicks the Australian defensive line and the No 9 runs home unopposed for his second try of a standout performance.
McKenzie cannot miss the conversion that sends the margin back out to nine points.
74 mins: New Zealand try to drive over in the left corner off the lineout but they get held up and Australia can regroup with a line drop-out.
Yellow Card! Potter (73 mins)
73 mins: New Zealand are happy to just get their hands on the ball and control territory for a bunch of phases. Eventually Roigard expands down the left, Tupaea hits the line hard in the inside-left channel, and Potter is at the breakdown first, isn’t he? No! He’s penalised for hands in the ruck and gets a yellow card for his troubles. Wallabies will finish this game with just 14 men.
71 mins: The atmosphere inside Eden Park is eerie as New Zealand battle to retain their slender advantage. They’re helped by a couple of Wallaby penalties allowing them to hustle into attacking 22.
CONVERTED TRY! New Zealand 26-24 Australia (Tizzano, 69)
That was a huge slice from Barrett and Australia make him pay! The lineout is swift and the maul is imperious, a solid arrowhead of gold piercing the black wall. Outstanding forward play! The bodies collapse around the try line. Is it a penalty? No, it’s a try! Tizzano gets the back slaps, and the Wallabies are right back in this.
O’Connor curls over a lovely conversion from near the right touchline, and the margin is down to two!
68 mins: The rain, that has been light for much of the game, is intensifying as the Wallabies pack, repack, and re-repack a scrum 15m inside their own half. Eventually the Wallabies go through hands from right to left until Jorgensen crosses halfway. Then play turns inside for more of that first-half patient phase play. After six phases Lonergan decides to use his backs to his right but there’s no go-forward and Sua’ali’i has to be strong to hold his ground and find O’Connor. The Wallabies keep the ball alive and benefit from a couple of mongrel bounces then return to the short side and Toole can chip ahead dangerously. Barrett is across to sweep but he slices his kick out of play just a couple of metres away from his line.
66 mins: Awful knock-on from Roigard, dropping the ball cold from behind the ruck as his side builds 35m out. A rare blemish from the game’s standout performer.
64 mins: New Zealand work the short side well through Roigard and Barrett, feeding Tupaea but he runs out of turf inside the 22. Australia win their lineout ball and kick clear.
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63 mins: A welcome pause in play as Savea is treated for a split brow. It’s a chance for the former internationals on TV to remind us their brave boys in gold would be ahead were it not for the meddling referees.
62 mins: Rugby chaos. The drop-out carries 40m and as the All Blacks are about to launch another attack Wilson flies out of the ruck to win a magnificent turnover. It’s all instinct from there as Australia fling the ball to the left and Ikitau and Toole break the line at speed. Pollard then charges up the guts before he’s hauled down. This is thrilling counterattacking rugby. And it ends with the referee’s whistle for an incorrect clearout. Australia haven’t seen much of the play in the past 15 minutes or so but that was a very dangerous sortie.
60 mins: Savea taps the penalty 15m out and runs at the gold wall. It’s unsophisticated one-out rugby for eight phases from right to left as Australia defend for their lives. Play shifts back to the right as the All Blacks approach the line but Hooper is there to get under the ball and earn his side a relieving drop-out.
58 mins: The lineout is secured and play expands from left to right. The Wallabies are then penalised on the ground so the All Blacks send the ball back to the left where they have the overlap – but Sua’ali’i nails a majestic hit to defend his line. Play comes back to the earlier infringement and Wilson is warned by the referee for repeat foul play.
57 mins: Another penalty New Zealand’s way, this time for taking out a man in the air at the restart. They make little ground but then Australia hand a turnover back on halfway, that the magnificent Roigard uses to kick a 50:22 on his left hand side. He is a serious player.
Penalty! New Zealand 26-17 Australia (McKenzie, 55)
30m out just to the left of the posts, McKenzie kicks New Zealand beyond a converted try ahead.
54 mins: The Wallabies win their scrum feed inside their own half then get into their phase grind in midfield. O’Connor does well in contact twice and earns a penalty when Savea is called offside. From 45m out there’s the optoin of three points but instead O’Connor kicks to the corner… and… what on earth was that!? Running from miles out of play Carter somehow manages to keep the ball in play! The long kick downfield turns the Wallabies on their heels. The ball is punted back but J Barrett hits it like a freight train and the All Blacks are on the burst. The breakdown penalty seems inevitable. Huge turnaround in this match. From O’Connor having the opportunity to set Australia on attack to New Zealand being invited to extend their lead.
52 mins: Roigard sends the set play to the right and some neat combinations threaten to break the game open but the Wallabies defend well on their left edge. New Zealand try to keep up the pace of play but as a jamming tackle comes in from Ikitau the ball is offloaded forward.
50 mins: Another gift for New Zealand as O’Connor kicks the restart out on the full. The All Blacks will feed a scrum on halfway.
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Penalty! New Zealand 23-17 Australia (McKenzie, 49)
From 35m out, just to the left of the posts, McKenzie makes no mistake and settles some Kiwi nerves. Australia dominated the last 20 minutes of the first half and began this period brightly as well.
48 mins: New Zealand finally gain some momentum following a breakdown penalty on the right. Then there’s another on the left – both disputed by the former Australian internationals on the telly. The latter allows McKenzie a shot for goal.
47 mins: The lineout is crisp and sent off the top in a flash. The Wallabies cross the gainline at speed and just as a promising attack builds Vaa’i is rewarded for getting his body over the ruck first when the ball does not come out.
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45 mins: The All Blacks take the scrum and just like the first half are prepared to attack from deep, sending the ball from right to left and inviting Clarke to accept contact. The Wallabies stand their ground, slow the phases down, and McReight earns the breakdown penalty. O’Connor kicks to the right on the 22.
43 mins: Following the kick to touch the Wallabies are pinged for not throwing their lineout straight. Gah!
42 mins: Australia get first use after the restart. Pollard, Bell, Wilson, all cross the gainline from halfway allowing Lonergan to roost an up-and-under. The ball comes to ground New Zealand’s way so Roigard goes straight back to the sky, where O’Connor is winded as he lands heavily competing for the ball with J Barrett. The helter-skelter start is paused when the All Blacks are penalised on the ground.
41 mins: As the golden sunset disappears behind Eden Park, will it be a golden evening for the Wallabies?
The teams are back out for the second 40.
Mango in Munich has sent me an email: “Once again the ARU/NZ Rugby are going up against the AFL grand final. One word… dumb. For a sport trying to survive and maybe even grow in Australia this is just another dumb move, just like putting on a Lions tour match v State of Origin. (That game was totally unforgivable as it was all Channel 9.)”
That would be this AFL grand final, where scores are level at half-time:
Half-time: New Zealand 20-17 Australia
That was a half of two halves. The All Blacks raced into a 20-3 lead and looked capable of running up a cricket score with their slick ball movement and power at the gainline. But the Wallabies regrouped well and took advantage of some poor discipline from New Zealand, as well as some questionable tactics – namely committing so few bodies to attacking rucks – to first stem the flow, then control possession to patiently pick their moments and bring the scoreline to something approaching parity.
CONVERTED TRY! New Zealand 20-17 Australia (Potter, 39)
The All Blacks threaten to steal the lineout but it comes off Kiwi hands and back to the thrower Pollard. The Wallabies get to work 20m out in centre field, and the one-out phase play is quick and crisp. The attack drifts to the left as bodies are drawn into the contest – and Ikitau again is the man to peel off the back, find a gap, and transform the dimension of the attack. Potter is on the shoulder, accepts the offload and crosses with a defender hanging off his back! Two in quick succession for Australia!
O’Connor has another simple task off the tee that he executes with aplomb.
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37 mins: Off the back of a scrum in their own 22 the All Blacks attack through hands from right to left. It looks dynamic and thrilling, but it means an isolated Clarke when he’s tackled and Ikitau forces the breakdown penalty. O’Connor kicks to the 22 on the right.
35 mins: Australia win lineout ball on halfway but are fortunate when the ball is allowed to bounce off the palm-down. Again the Wallabies attack laterally through phases, this time from left to right. Jorgensen is lively, Sua’ali’i is manhandled, Ikitau is nailed, as the phase count hits 12 with zero metres gained. Finally, Lonergan box kicks, Toole looks to have won the aerial contest, but in the grapple for possession there’s a knock-on. Much better signs for the visitors.
33 mins: Australia go conservative form the restart but not for the first time today New Zealand are too good under the high ball – J Barrett this time. The All Blacks try to work through some phase play up the middle but it lacks oomph and McKenzie elects to kick into the 22. The Wallabies run the ball out and it pays dividends when they are awarded a penalty for Lomax taking out Wilson off the ball.
CONVERTED TRY! New Zealand 20-10 (Pollard, 31)
Pollard finds Hooper in the middle of the lineout and the maul drives to within inches of the line. Ikitau peels off the back and forces the All Blacks to scramble – but it’s to no avail as Pollard is at the breakdown in a flash and picks and dives over with the minimum of fuss. Straightforward, old-fashioned, clinical.
O’Connor adds the extras and the deficit is cut to 10.
30 mins: From the lineout the Wallabies attack from right to left, but it’s slow and lateral, until they’re awarded a penalty that allows O’Connor to kick to touch for a 5m lineout.
29 mins: From the scrum on halfway New Zealand send the ball out quickly to Clarke on the left. Play returns infield but Slipper lays a superb tackle and earns his side a breakdown penalty. O’Connor only just makes touch, but Australia have lineout on attacking 22.
27 mins: Jorgensen gets his first look of the afternoon as he crosses halfway. Despite some impetus the Wallabies are sloppy sending the ball from the middle to the left and Salakaia-Loto knocks on.
Behind play Beauden Barrett looks ginger, is it a rib injury? McKenzie jogs into the fray, not a bad replacement.
CONVERTED TRY! New Zealand 20-3 Australia (Roigard, 25)
The lineout is secured, the maul forms, but it goes nowhere. The All Blacks spin the ball from left to right and gain a penalty advantage for a high tackle. From right the ball comes back to the left wing where Savea is one-on-one with 10m to go. He cuts inside, then there’s a mass of bodies camped on the try line until Lomax has space to burrow for the line. Somehow the ball still isn’t grounded as the phases grow. Then finally, the magnificent Roigard, picks and snipes himself to dive over next to the posts like a running back on first and goal.
Barrett cannot miss his third conversion attempt. The All Blacks are rampant.
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22 mins: The first scrum of the day is an even contest but New Zealand do well to shear off the back from right to left. The excellent Roigard has another dart to put the Wallabies on their heels. The also excellent Savea punches another dent in the gold wall, but just as the momentum begins to grow the All Blacks don’t commit enough bodies to the breakdown and Tupou is too strong on the ground.
But the penalty is reversed and goes New Zealand’s way with the TMO spotting an earlier no-arms tackle by Salakaia-Loto. Barrett kicks to the left corner.
20 mins: The Wallabies kick their penalty into All Black territory and begin going through their phases – but there’s a turnover! Lonergan wasn’t over the ball quickly enough and the referee allows New Zealand to claim the ball and toe ahead. The ball goes out of play but Lonergan is soon under the pump again, knocking on behind the ruck. This is a baptism of fire for the Brumby.
18 mins: O’Connor doesn’t find touch with his kick so New Zealand quickly neutralise any Australian threat. Then there’s disaster for the Wallabies as Tate McDermott stays down after being cleaned out at a ruck on halfway. And that’s his day over and he’s helped from the field. On comes Ryan Lonergan for his Test debut.
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16 mins: Australia are used to playing catch-up, but this already feels like an impossible task as a decent attacking platform is frittered away by a loose pass and knock-on. The All Blacks immediately go to the sky and Clarke charges through to force the ball to the ground. New Zealand have a sniff but Tupou lays a strong tackle and eventually the Wallabies have a penalty.
TRY! New Zealand 13-3 Australia (Carter, 15)
New Zealand secure set piece ball cleanly and spread from right to left. Then they begin a series of pick-and-go drives 15m out in the centre of the field. The angle shifts to the right as the try line hoves into view. This is irresistible. Every phase purposeful, every breakdown clean. It’s not flash, but it’s patient and effective. Savea ups the tempo with a huge shove after contact. And Carter is there to pick and drive over! Too good. Australia’s defence looked like they were caught in a rip as New Zealand just surged through them at will.
Barrett misses another conversion, this time from near the right touchline.
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12 mins: The All Blacks win the aerial contest on halfway following Barrett’s garryowen. The ball gets spun to the right, not once, but twice, and the Wallabies do well to retain their defensive shape. But the All Blacks keep coming at pace – they are so quick to the clearout – and going wide at every opportunity to stretch the visiting defence, denying them the opportunity to assert any pressure. Eventually a gold jersey gets a hand to an inside ball and knocks it out of play for a lineout on the 22.
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Penalty! New Zealand 8-3 Australia (Barrett, 10)
Pollard with the pick and go following the restart threatens to set the Wallabies away again. He finds McDermott on halfway but he’s trapped and Vaa’i forces the turnover. In the blink of an eye the ball is on New Zealand’s left wing with momentum. A breakdown penalty allows Roigard the chance to tap and go and dash to the 22. There’s support from Barrett who is hauled down just short of the line. The black jerseys rush to find a second try but Australia’s defence holds firm and play is recalled to a breakdown penalty.
Barrett cannot miss, replying instantly to O’Connor’s effort.
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Penalty! New Zealand 5-3 Australia (O'Connor, 7)
From the restart Australia get a good look at the ball in New Zealand’s half. Wilson, Hooper, Salakaia-Loto, all push the gainline a few metres at a time. McDermott is busy, the clearouts are clean, excellent controlled multi-phase play, and by the 22 there’s a whistle and an arm pointing in the gold direction and O’Connor calmly slots over the penalty from point-blank range.
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TRY! New Zealand 5-0 Australia (Clarke, 4)
The lineout is secured but Australia deny the maul. They concede an offside penalty advantage though so the All Blacks play with freedom. A couple of drives down the short side draw in bodies then the ball is spun cleanly from right to left until Clarke has enough room to skip around the outside, wipe away his earlier tears, and dive over in the corner. Blistering start from the All Blacks. Trademark early reverse for the Wallabies.
Barrett strikes the near post with his touchline conversion attempt.
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3 mins: Off the back of the set piece Savea busts through the line on the right wing. He has Roigard in support as New Zealand rumble into the 22. With a penalty advantage Barrett attempts an audacious crossfield kick to the leaping Clarke but the mark isn’t taken and play is called back. New Zealand kick to the right corner.
2 mins: Frost secures the restart on his 22 and the Wallabies settle. The box kick to halfway is taken comfortably so the All Blacks try to build an attack, only to fail to execute a passing chain and settle instead for a lineout on halfway.
Kick-off!
The first instalment of the 2025 Bledisloe Cup is under way…
Codie Taylor leads the Haka, throwing down the challenge to the Wallabies. Kick-off is imminent.
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Gah! I’m not crying, you’re crying. Actually, Caleb Clarke is crying, while his dad, former All Black Eroni Clarke sings the New Zealand national anthem. Beautiful stuff.
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Today’s referee is Italian Andrea Piardi.
Ardie Savea, deputising for Scott Barrett, is the imposing figure at the front of a cavalcade of Kiwis accelerating into the afternoon gloom. To nobody’s surprise, New Zealand are top to toe in menacing black.
Australia have made a habit of starting matches slowly, something skipper Harry Wilson is keen to remedy.
Yeah, we definitely need to start better. That’s pretty clear and obvious from everyone.
How to beat the All Blacks?
We’ve just got to win the collisions. They’re they’re a classy team. But if we can get them up front it will make the job a lot easier for our backs.
The Wallabies are being led onto the Eden Park turf by No 1 James Slipper. Today he becomes only the third international to register 150 caps.
Australia are wearing their traditional golden jerseys, green shorts, green socks.
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Conditions are fine in Auckland. It’s relatively mild, there’s been a little rain drifting around, but there’s not much breeze to speak of.
The Rugby Championship is the most engrossing it has ever been, but as Gerard Meagher writes, there’s no guarantee the good times will continue for long.
Enjoy it, because the Rugby Championship is set for a hiatus next year and there remains uncertainty as to what will happen thereafter. In 2026, following the first tranche of the inaugural Nations Cup matches, New Zealand are set to tour South Africa in what is being billed as the Greatest Rivalry. Three Tests are expected – with a money-spinning fourth mooted for a neutral venue, possibly Twickenham – and a handful of tour matches involving club sides. The Greatest Rivalry has not been formally announced yet and though there is still scope for fixtures including all four nations, the Rugby Championship as we know it will be put on hold soon enough. In 2027, with Australia hosting the World Cup in October and November, it will be truncated and there are conflicting reports as to what may happen in 2028 and 2029 before South Africa likely embark on a bumper tour of New Zealand in 2030.
Returning to Australia’s current world ranking of seventh, for a moment, this could prove significant at the 2027 World Cup on home soil. With the tournament expanding to 24 teams for the first time, the group phase will feature six pools of four nations. The six top-ranked sides in the world will be separated at this stage of the draw, and if early matches go to form, they should also avoid each other in the first knockout stage (round of 16). The ranking cut-off point for this huge advantage is December 2025.
Rankings points are traded during each Test. These are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage. In short, this means underdog victories are worth their weight in gold, while upsets at home can prove very costly.
Australia and Argentina are locked in a battle for that crucial sixth spot. Last week, Australia lost 1.55 points, while Argentina gained 1.56 points, as the teams exchanged places on the standings. A visit to Eden Park is something of a free hit, but every Test between now and December carries significance beyond the 80 minutes of action.
Angus Fontaine reflects on the last time the Wallabies got one over the All Blacks at Eden Park.
If “it’s the hope that kills you” then Wallabies fans have been dying a slow death for 39 years at Eden Park, the venue for this Saturday’s first Test of the Bledisloe Cup.
The Auckland venue is the All Blacks’ fortress. They have not lost there since 1994 and are unbeaten across 51 Tests (49 wins, two draws). No Australian team has won at Eden Park since the 1986 side led by Andrew Slack and coached by Alan Jones.
If you were worried about Australia’s chances today, or any day, just turn on Australian TV. The seventh ranked team in the world, that have lost 11 of their past 18 Tests, apparently have a “world class” 15 that anybody in the country could name in the pub ... despite today’s line-up featuring a new second row, third-choice fullback, and umpteenth halves pairing…
The All Blacks, by contrast, and “hardworking” and “under pressure”.
Does the relentless uncritical cheerleading actually serve a useful purpose?
Australia XV
Changes aplenty for Joe Schmidt as Australia’s preparations have been hit by injuries. There’s a new lock pairing, the bullocking Rob Valentini is missing, there’s yet another fresh partnership in the halves, and the second-choice fullback is crocked. Add to that the continued absence of the totemic Will Skelton and you have a Wallabies line-up some way below full potential.
Fifteen years after his 2010 debut against England, 36-year-old loosehead prop James Slipper becomes the third player to reach the 150-cap milestone following locks Alun Wyn Jones of Wales and New Zealand’s Sam Whitelock.
1 James Slipper, 2 Billy Pollard, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Nick Frost, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6 Tom Hooper, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 9 Tate McDermott, 10 James O’Connor, 11 Corey Toole, 12 Len Ikitau, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Harry Potteer, 15 Max Jorgensen.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Ryan Lonergan, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
New Zealand XV
The All Blacks have brought in five new faces to their 23. Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima return from injury to share halfback duties, Caleb Clarke will start on the left wing for his first game of the season. Lock Patrick Tuipulotu returns on the bench alongside loose forward Peter Lakai.
The imposing Scott Barrett misses out with a shoulder injury but he is expected to be passed fit for the return match in Perth.
1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Fabian Holland, 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 6. Simon Parker, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Billy Proctor, 14. Leroy Carter, 15. Will Jordan.
Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Peter Lakai, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Quinn Tupaea, 23. Damian McKenzie.
Angus Fontaine sets the scene from an Australian perspective.
To beat New Zealand at home, all the stars must align. You’ve got to pick a smart side, play the right style, win over the referee and catch a little luck along the way. Silencing the crowd early, with fast points or fierce attack and defence, helps too. Even then, there are no guarantees against the All Blacks. And they are never more dangerous than when wounded, as Scott Robertson’s side certainly is after their worst ever Test defeat last week, a 43-10 spifflication by South Africa in Wellington.
Yet instead of smelling blood and making plans to dismantle an enemy in disarray, the Wallabies inexplicably sent two of their most important players on magical mystery tours to the far side of the planet. James O’Connor and Will Skelton were allowed to return to their clubs Leicester and La Rochelle despite being crucial to Australia’s chances of ending a 23-year Bledisloe Cup drought and snapping New Zealand’s 31-year-long, 51-Test unbeaten streak at their “fortress” of Eden Park.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of New Zealand v Australia in round five of the 2025 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at Eden Park in Auckland is scheduled for 5.05pm NZST (3.05pm AEST).
As the battle for the Bledisloe Cup recommences the Rugby Championship is at the most interesting juncture in its short history. After four rounds all four competing nations have two wins and two losses, and all have celebrated victories overseas.
The Wallabies secured theirs at Ellis Park in round one, since when they have suffered two defeats and conjured a Houdini-like escape in the 86th minute at home to Argentina. Yet their remains a feelgood factor around Australian rugby in the wake of a promising Lions series, the emergence of a clutch of youthful world class talents, and the beginning of a narrative pointing towards the 2027 World Cup on home soil.
The same cannot be said about the All Blacks. They suffered a humiliating defeat to the Springboks a fortnight ago in Wellington and are now closer on World Rugby’s rankings to England in fifth place, than they are to South Africa in top spot.
With New Zealand’s pride stung, the Wallabies could be heading to Eden Park at the worst possible moment. Not that there’s ever a good moment to venture to one of the most secure fortresses in world sport. The All Blacks are unbeaten at the venue in the past 51 tests over 31 years and the Wallabies haven’t tasted victory there since 1986.
I’ll be back with the line-ups shortly. If you want to get in touch this afternoon, the address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
