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Without Bledisloe victory 2014 is a write-off for the Wallabies

22nd August, 2014
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Would putting the Bledisloe Cup on the line add more to the Rugby World Cup final, or would it just be overkill? (Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
Roar Rookie
22nd August, 2014
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The first Bledisloe Cup Test of 2014 was the most important game the Wallabies have played since the 2003 World Cup final.

But with the Wallabies wasting opportunities to go one up in the series following the 12-all draw, the return match against the All Blacks at Eden Park has taken on even greater significance for the future of Australian rugby.

Despite a 28-year losing streak at the fortress of New Zealand rugby, the Wallabies simply have to find a way to win or their 2014 international campaign will be consigned to the mediocrity basket.

The Bledisloe Cup has become the Holy Grail for the Wallabies, and for frustrated Australian rugby fans who haven’t seen the trophy among our silverware since 2002.

A 3-0 whitewash of France or even winning the Rugby Championship will not atone for another failed attempt to regain the Bledisloe.

Many judges are already arguing that the Wallabies have surrendered their chance by squandering golden opportunities to win the first game. The decision to shun close-range penalty goal attempts just before halftime and the try chance missed between Nathan Charles and Pat McCabe late in the game let the All Blacks off the hook.

Wily All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes his team can step up another 10 or 12 notches at Eden Park, while he also reckons the Wallabies don’t have many more bullets to fire.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has remained upbeat about the prospects of finally ending one of Australian sport’s longest running hoodoos, and has astutely decided to put the team up in a different hotel to the one they’ve apparently stayed in for the past 20 years.

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But if the Wallabies return home with their 2014 Bledisloe mission unaccomplished there will be a despondent mood among Australian supporters, even with most of the Rugby Championship and an end of year tour of Europe to come.

The current 12-year gap for Bledisloe success isn’t the longest stretch the Wallabies have gone without winning the coveted trophy. New Zealand held it from 1951 until Australia finally grabbed it back in a one-off Test in Sydney in 1979.

In that period, the two nations contested the Bledisloe Cup series sporadically, with often three or four years between series.

If the Wallabies fail again in Auckland, the powers that be may have to do away with annual series to save Australians from continual disappointment.

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