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The big change the All Blacks have made for the Bledisloe Cup series

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The Wallabies may have given the All Blacks an almighty fright in the opening test of last year’s Bledisloe Cup campaign, but don’t expect the Kiwis to give the Australians as much of a chance for an upset this time round.

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Speaking to media on Monday, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster said his side have learned from their shortcomings in last year’s 16-all draw with the Wallabies ahead of their Bledisloe Cup re-match in Auckland this weekend.

Although the All Blacks went on to reclaim the coveted piece of silverware for an 18th straight season across the following three matches, their failure to secure victory at Sky Stadium last October came as a significant surprise.

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However, according to Foster, the All Blacks will be better for that experience as they aim for a more clinical performance at Eden Park.

“We’ve got a little bit of a history of starting slow in a year and it happened again last year,” Foster said five days out from the first of this year’s three Bledisloe Cup matches.

“It’s something the All Blacks have tried to fix for decades and never quite got it right, but, at the end of the day, they played well in Wellington and it was one of those games that it was wet, it was windy, both teams were up.

“We didn’t take opportunities, particularly before half-time to maybe put the game away, so what did we learn?

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“You’ve got to be fierce and relentless in every moment, and if you don’t take our opportunities, then the game becomes a bit of a bunfight, and that’s what Wellington taught us.

“We’ve worked through that a little bit in the Steinlager Series. We’ve been able to talk about how we have to get into test matches, we’ve got to take opportunities early, and so that’s our cunning plan.”

As he alluded to, last month’s tests against Tonga and Fiji have provided Foster with a chance to fine tune how exactly the All Blacks go about producing a more effective performance in their first-up clash against the Wallabies.

Likewise, though, the Wallabies were afforded the opportunity to figure out where they are at in their three matches against France throughout July.

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The Australians emerged victorious in a tightly-contested series that saw the Wallabies clinch their first series victory on home soil since 2014.

As a result, confidence is brimming within Dave Rennie’s squad, and Foster has taken note of their exploits across the ditch.

“You go through a tight series where all three tests just about played out the same way, didn’t they? All went down to the last two minutes, so they would have learned a lot from that and taken some confidence from that.

“The flip side of it for us is we knew who we were playing, so we’re able to plan our programme around that, and so it was a matter of us trying some things within that campaign and making sure we grew our game, albeit in a slightly different situation.

“Either way, the good thing is that this year we’ve both had some games together. Last year, we both came in cold.

“This time, we’ve both had a chance to prepare and it just means we are where we are and both teams should be pretty happy with their prep.”

Tactically, Foster is anticipating a fast-paced approach from the Wallabies, who he said have made an effort to become more of a threat in the collision area of the game.

“There’s a lot of stuff they did last year I see them still working hard on. They’re still trying to be physical, they’re trying to be confrontational,” he said.

“There’s certainly a desire to get involved around the ball and create a bit of a mess in that space. That hasn’t changed.

“They’re a ball-in-hand team, primarily, and that hasn’t changed. It looked like they were trying to do a little bit more in counter-attack and get involved in that space.

“It’s just a good Australian team based on a skill-based game and a fast ruck-and-run game.”

Regardless of how either team head into their first encounter of the year, Foster said there is no shortage of motivation within the All Blacks camp as they aim to extend their Bledisloe Cup dominance for a 19th consecutive year.

“We’ve always said, outside of a World Cup, we kind of see this as being our most important trophy.

“We’re incredibly excited about this one. The chance to be at Eden Park, it’s against Australia, it’s a trophy that we’re both desperate to win, and there’s always a massive edge in this game.

“In terms of preparation, you can feel the edge already in the group. They know they’re going into a big test week and they know we’ve got to be at the top of our game to get the result we want.

“We learned that last year as we were slightly off the mark, and these guys are a really good rugby team. They’re improving, and if we give them a sniff, then it’s going to be a hard night.”

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Trevor 40 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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