The All Blacks face a make-or-break showdown with the Wallabies today, knowing they must win to keep their slim Tri-Nations title defense hopes alive.
Another loss for the All Blacks could destroy their season, while an away win for the Wallabies would strengthen their claims to being the true pretenders to the crown ahead of the world champion Springboks.
“It’s a very important Test,” said coach Graham Henry, whose own reputation is also on the line as the desperate New Zealanders look to turn around a season that has seen back-to-back losses to South Africa and Australia.
PHOTO: AP
“When you lose a couple, it puts an extra emphasis on this particular Test and I think that’s pretty obvious,” he said.
The Wallabies are on the rise this year, winning five from five so far under new coach Robbie Deans — the man the New Zealand Rugby Union rejected in favor of keeping Henry despite the All Blacks World Cup failure last year.
In addition to the Tri-Nations fight, the All Blacks also need a win to lift their chances of retaining the Bledisloe Cup — the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby dominance — and Henry agreed it was a do-or-die encounter.
“Oh, for sure. It’s a big game for the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations,” he said. “Dead right.”
The side’s undoing at the World Cup and in their last two Tri-Nations Tests has been an inability to change their game plan, while Deans has proved a master at producing teams who think on their feet and switch strategies.
“Always — that is the nature of every week,” Deans said yesterday after the Wallabies’ final training run.
He dismissed the suggestion his side could be showing signs of fatigue after consecutive wins over the Springboks and All Blacks followed by a flight to New Zealand.
“These guys will be up for this,” Deans said. “They are excited. They are standing at the foot of the hill, and they are ready to climb.”
While history favors the All Blacks — they are unbeaten in 19 Tests on Eden Park since 1994 and haven’t lost to Australia here since 1986 — Henry was in no mood for bold predictions.
“As to whether they are going to be good enough, we can’t do anymore than we are doing,” he said.
The Wallabies have had a relatively stable build-up, making only two changes to their starting line-up with the return of captain Stirling Mortlock and the loss of Rocky Elsom through injury.
But it has been a tough week for the injury-hit All Blacks, with Henry unable to confirm his starting line-up until yesterday when Andrew Hore and Jimmy Cowan were cleared to play at hooker and halfback.
There’s also a makeshift look to the backline, with center Richard Kahui repositioned on the right wing to mark the powerful Lote Tuqiri.
The one positive note for the All Blacks is the return of Richie McCaw after six weeks sidelined by an ankle injury, although flyhalf Dan Carter said McCaw will not solve the team’s problems by himself.
“He’s a world-class player, but we can’t expect him to do everything,” Carter said. “We have to step up as a team, and if we do that we’ll be a more competitive side. We have to play a lot smarter.”
The All Blacks coaches admitted this week they were out-smarted by Deans in the first Test, forcing a rethink to their game plan which is likely to see more kicking for territory.
McCaw, who has played under Deans through an exceptional five Super 14 wins with the Canterbury Crusaders, said the All Blacks also needed to toughen up.
“We have to be smart about the way we play, but also bring the physical side of things and the aggression if we are to get what we are after,” he said.
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