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.
“It’s not so much Eden Park,” says Slack. “The House of Pain at Carisbrook and Death Valley at Dunedin are just as scary. The hardest thing is you’re always playing the All Blacks. But this year we’ve got an extremely realistic chance of winning.”
Plenty agree. New Zealand are coming off their worst Test defeat, a 43-10 whipping by South Africa whereas a resurgent Australia lead the Rugby Championship. Can these Wallabies end the Eden Park hoodoo and win a first Bledisloe in 23 years?
“Beating the All Blacks in their own backyard is what all Wallabies dream of,” says Simon Poidevin, flanker in the 1986 side. “But doing it at Eden Park – the beating heart of New Zealand rugby and the cathedral of all their dreams – well, that’s the ultimate.”
In the decade before the 1986 tour, Australia was beating the All Blacks regularly. They won a one-off Test for the Bledisloe in 1979 and backed it up with a 2-1 series win in 1980. But one-point defeats had cost them dearly in the 1984 and 1985 series.
“We knew we were their equal so those wasted opportunities made us hungrier,” says Slack. “After ‘84 we went to Europe and beat the home nations to win a Grand Slam. By the time we arrived in Wellington for the first Test, we were ready.”
Buoyed by a telegram from Sir Donald Bradman (“It’s a very big occasion. Good luck.”), the Wallabies won 13-12. But in Dunedin that scoreline was reversed after a controversial refereeing call denied Wallabies No 8 Steve Tuynman a late try.
“That was the quietest dressing room I’ve ever been in,” says Poidevin. “We knew that call had cost us a chance to go 2-0 up and clinch it.” Rookie Andrew Leeds, a reserve fullback in that Test, says, “you could’ve heard a pin drop. We were gutted.”
Slack recalls an interviewer asking him if the two 13-12 scorelines meant anything. “No,” he deadpans. “In my defence, we were shattered… and Jonesy had promised us five-days skiing if we locked up the series 2-0. You know, I’ve still never been skiing.”
Coach Jones didn’t let his Wallabies wallow. “Before we’d even checked into the hotel the next day, Jonesy had us working,” says Poidevin. “When the locals protested, he rounded up a few cars and got them to point their headlights onto the training field.”
The 1986 tour was a seven-week tour of three Tests and 11 torrid mid-week games. “It was my third tour of New Zealand and there’s no easy games there,” Slack says. “But we all felt privileged to be with our mates in the service of Australian rugby.”
The ‘86 tourists were a happy mob. “There were some pretty awesome toga parties,” says Leeds. “We played twice a week, celebrated twice a week and took advantage of all the hospitality the New Zealanders showed us. It would’ve been rude not to.”
Steinlager was beer sponsor for the series and a palette of cans was at every pitstop. Warm welcome or attempted sabotage? “Probably both,” laughs Poidevin. “But we could tuck in because we were fantastically fit and hardened for battle.”
The test of that came at Eden Park on 6 September. The Wallabies were all over the front pages for walking out of a hotel because it had one shower for a squad of 30. “Alan blew up,” says Slack. “But we barely noticed. We had total focus on the Test.”
They needed it, as the home side launched a blitzkrieg of attacking rugby. “The All Blacks style in those days was to dominate you upfront, kick for the corners and shred you on the ground,” says centre Brett Papworth. “It was stolid but it worked.”
Leeds’ form had won him a Test debut at fullback, shifting David Campese to wing. “As the new boy, I was expecting a barrage of bombs but they came out and ran it instead. It was hectic. Their plan was to blow us off the park in the first 20 minutes.”
Even in his 40th Test Poidevin was stunned. “Usually Bledisloes are trench warfare: you bash us, we bash you. This was different. Full-on pace. They were using the ball and going wide. Eden Park was roaring. We knew we were in for a Test and a half.”
But the Australians weathered the storm. “Cowboy [Mark] Shaw ran over the top of me but I hung on,” recalls Papworth. “And every time they rushed at us we had the numbers. After half an hour of frantic footy, everyone was knackered and some errors crept in.”
The turning point was a goal-line tackle by Wallabies prop Enrique Rodríguez. “When Topo [Rodríguez] hit Hika Reid,” says Papworth, “we all lifted and they all deflated.” Slack agrees. “Defence is attitude and that back-slam tackle encapsulated our attitude.”
The Wallabies went into half-time on that note, 12-6 ahead after a zig-zagging Papworth dash had set up Leeds’ first try. Ultimately Australia charged home 22-9. “The ‘84 Grand Slam had been a magical mystery tour but ‘86 was another level,” says Poidevin. “Winning was the most sensational feeling. Eden Park fell silent that day.”
Slack rates the victory above the historic slam of triumphs over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. “The achievement and the quality of performances was better,” he says. “There is no greater satisfaction for a Wallaby than beating the All Blacks.”
Papworth and Leeds played on another year as amateurs, then went to rugby league. “But I never toured with a happier family than the 86ers,” he says. “Eden Park was my greatest day as a footballer.” Papworth can’t argue. “It’s in my heart forever.”
Can the 2025 Wallabies emulate the feat? “They’ve got the self-belief,” says Poidevin. “And they’ve dug themselves out of dark places before to win.” At Eden Park, the darkest of all, the path to victory is simple, says Papworth: “Back yourself and go.”
