Scott Barrett’s Wallabies warning before Bledisloe Cup clash in Wellington

All Blacks captain Scott Barrett expects the Wallabies to “adjust” and improve after last weekend’s tense Bledisloe Cup bout in Sydney. New Zealand were considered strong favourites before that Test but fans held their breath as the match came down to the last minute.

The New Zealanders got off to an idyllic start with fullback Will Jordan crossing for the opener inside the first two minutes. Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke also scored first-half tries as the All Blacks ran away to a 21-nil lead after just 15 minutes of play.

But, by the end of the 80 minutes, the scoreboard read 31-28 in the All Blacks’ favour. It was a thrilling encounter in the end with poor discipline and the All Blacks’ regular second-half point scoring woes once again proving problematic.

With that match now in the past, the All Blacks have set their sights on snapping a horror hoodoo in Wellington which has seen the hosts fail to win a Test in the capital since 2018. It’s a record Barrett insisted the team were “certainly not proud of.”

As history beckons for both the All Blacks and Wallabies, fans will be eager to see what both sides produce on the field after their respective hot and cold performances last time out. For the All Blacks, they know they have to bring their A-game.

“I think it’s only natural that they adjust to their own learnings from the Test,” Barrett told reporters at Sky Stadium on Friday.

“It’s sort of what happens in a Rugby Championship, you play a team two weeks in a row and they adjust. They might show different pictures so we’ve certainly prepared that they might show a few different pictures and so have we.”

After those tries to Jordan, Ioane and Clarke, the All Blacks’ practically flawless start to the Test came undone in Sydney as Fraser McReight scored a much-needed try for the Wallabies. Ardie Savea hit back for the visitors before Matt Faessler scored another for Australia.

The scoreboard read 14-28 at the half which was a bit of a morale victory for the Aussies after the Kiwis’ strong start. It’s been a common theme in 2024 that the All Blacks have struggled during the second term and that was once again the case at Sydney Olympic Park.

Damian McKenzie scored a penalty goal early in the half, and that ended up being the only points the All Blacks scored during that 40-minute period. The Wallabies scored tries through Hunter Paisami and Tom Wright to really make a game of it.

But the Wallabies weren’t able to complete what would’ve been an incredible comeback and they’ve suffered in the world rankings after dropping down to an equal-worst 10^th place. Once again, though, the All Blacks aren’t reading into that.

“We don’t want to fall into that trap of believing that the Australians are not going to challenge us tomorrow night,” Barrett explained.

“We’ve given them the respect with our preparation and we have to front up and start well and finish strong.”