As both Wallaby and All Black fans are well aware, Australia hasn’t held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002.
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It’s been a long and hard 13 years for Australia. The two teams have played 36 Tests over that period, with the All Blacks winning 28, the Wallabies 6, and two draws.
Back in 2002, the Wallabies were still the reigning World Cup champions, having beaten France in the final in 1999. Coached by Eddie Jones, listed below is the Wallabies’ starting line-up that retained the Bledisloe Cup for the fifth year in a row, in what was a golden era for Australian rugby.
1. Bill Young
2. Jeremy Paul
3. Patricio Noriega
4. Nathan Sharpe
5. Justin Harrison
6. Owen Finegan
7. George Smith
8. Toutai Kefu
9. George Gregan (c)
10. Stephen Larkham
11. Stirling Mortlock
12. Daniel Herbert
13. Matt Burke
14. Ben Tune
15. Chris Latham
Somewhat surprisingly, only eight of that 2002 starting line-up featured in the Wallabies’ extra-time World Cup final loss to England in 2003 – Young, Harrison, Sharpe and Smith in the forwards, and Gregan, Larkham and Mortlock in the backs. Hooker Jeremy Paul was on the interchange bench.
Fast forward 12 years and the Wallabies lost the World Cup final to the All Blacks in 2015. Michael Cheika has stayed very loyal to that line-up for the opening Bledisloe Cup match of 2016. 13 of the Wallaby starting line-up from that final are in the starting line-up this weekend. The only two missing are winger Drew Mitchell (replaced by Dayne Haylett-Petty) and flanker Scott Fardy (replaced by Ben McCalman), with Fardy now on the bench.
On paper, the 2016 Wallabies team is comparable to the 2002 Bledisloe Cup winning team in the forwards, though the 2002 Wallaby backline was special. But of course, the team that they have to compare favourably against is the 2016 All Blacks.
The All Blacks starting line-up for this weekend features only six players who started in the 2015 World Cup final – Ben and Aaron Smith in the backs, and Kieran Read, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick in the forwards.
With the Richie McCaw and Dan Carter era over for the All Blacks, will 2016 be the year that the Wallabies end the Bledisloe blackout?
The comparative performances of the Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams in 2016 suggests not, but Australian fans live in hope.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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