How ending 62-year hoodoo fuels Wallabies before shot at All Blacks

Harry Wilson scored two tries as the Wallabies made history 14 months ago, completing a remarkable comeback against the Springboks in Johannesburg. The Aussies snapped a 62-year curse at Emirates Airline Park, and now they’re out to make more history.

Wilson will captain the Wallabies in the 2026 Bledisloe Cup series opener on Saturday evening, as the visitors chase another drought-breaking win – this time at Eden Park. The All Blacks are on a 53-game unbeaten run there, having last prevailed 40-21 against Ireland earlier this year.

The Wallabies haven’t tasted victory over the All Blacks at the venue since September 6, 1986, but the current group appears full of belief, as they look to extend a six-game unbeaten streak that stretches more than two months.

Wilson and the Wallabies are walking towards the challenge, even though history doesn’t favour the away side going into the Test. The skipper believes the Aussies can draw confidence from last year’s incredible comeback from a 22-point deficit against the Springboks.

“That definitely gives this group confidence. 62 years, no one really gave us a shot but we went out there and played a good game and we got the result,” Wilson told reporters.

“This group, we just want to keep improving and we’ve done that since then and I think that’s showed the group what we can do on our day. Why not?”

It’s been almost 10 years since the Wallabies last went seven matches unbeaten, but the men in gold are on the cusp of matching that feat. They ran away with a big win over Italy in Joe Schmidt’s final match in charge, before Les Kiss took over.

Kiss has overseen four victories and one draw so far, which included a 28-all thriller away to Los Pumas in Mendoza. The Wallabies last took the field at Perth’s Optus Stadium, holding on in a nail-biter 42-38 against the Boks.

But many of the current Wallabies will be chasing their first-ever win over the team’s arch-rival from across the Tasman. The All Blacks haven’t lost in this match-up since November 2020, when the Wallabies secured a famous result in Brisbane.

“I feel as a group we’ve been developing, improving,” Wilson said.

“We spoke about it a lot last year, we knew we’re nowhere near the finished product but we knew were a team who wanted to learn, we wanted to keep getting better. I think we’ve started to see signs of the hard work we’ve done, starting to flourish a bit.

“The group’s got a lot of confidence in ourselves and I just hope we keep improving. We’re a team who’s hungry and just wants to be better. It’s a great opportunity for us tomorrow night.”