Why I should have hated attending the Eden Park Test, but didn't

Everyone knows about the All Blacks’ record at Eden Park over the past decades. I was strangely optimistic, but I really should not have been. Why?

1) It was the Kiwi fortress. 2) We had legitimate hope for the first time in years. 3) We had our arses handed to us in a record defeat.

I’m a die-hard Wallabies and Waratahs fan. I’ve suffered alongside my fellow Sydneysiders for years, waiting for that Super title and I was there when Foley’s kick just cleared the crossbar. But there is a point of differentiation between myself and many in Sydney’s rugby community.

That is, what I want from the game.

I went to Bledisloe 2 at Eden Park. This is my first visit to New Zealand outside of Queenstown and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

A lot of pre-conceptions have been blown out of the water this weekend. So let me give you the real three reasons, and my real take-outs from my time behind enemy lines.

1. The ARU needs money
Almost all of my rugby banter is my three mates Nick, Dale and Roy. Nick – fellow Aussie, Dale – transplant Saffa, Roy – to-and-fro Kiwi. Roy embodies the maxim ‘Sing When You’re Winning’. He’s generally pretty quiet in the lead up to big matches, but the loudest man in the pub when his team has a comfortable lead.

Nick on the other hand is full of gusto. He reads the Aussie rugby media posts with interest and is so excited he can barely carry his tray of mid-strength beers back to his seat. He also floods my phone with texts admonishing refs and opposition players for interrupting our run for the line, and is crushed and despondent following any defeat.

Turns out Nick is not alone in this approach to his rugby – as I certainly was circa 2011 Rugby World Cup. So to quote the famous song, the question to the ARU and the Aussie rugby media is why do you build me up just to let me down?’

What I’ve come to learn is that the All Blacks deserve their No. 1 world ranking. The ARU, in NSW alone, is grappling with the NRL, AFL and football. They need the bums on seats to stay alive so they don’t mind giving their public false hope in order to get the cash, and hey, they can always roll out some new flashy ads before the next home Test to scrub away the sense of betrayal.

The statistics are against us. Form, selection and injuries to boot, yet we walk in with a mindset somewhere between thinking and knowing we will win.

2. The Aussies expect to win every time
Enter Dale, the Saffa. Since his family moved to Sydney in 1996, his parents have converted (Wallabies supporters) and are a Waratahs and a Brumbies supporter between them. Dale is still a stalwart Sharks and Springboks supporter but hey, his family introduced me to biltong all those years ago so fair play.

Dale comes along with Nick and I to the Tahs games and has been a big influence in my shifting attitude to the way I watch rugby. He once told me that Australia expect to win and are quick to seek third-party excuses for losses. Criticism for one’s own team is common because the idea that we were outplayed simply does not occur in the Australian mind.

I was born in 1985, and as a youngster coming up during the 90s I watched doe-eyed at images of Kieren Perkins, Mark Taylor, John Eales toting medals and trophies all to the sound of our anthem. A decade of Aussie glory book-ended by our two Rugby World Cup wins. Success was frequent and in time, became taken for granted.

3. Pick your crowd
I knew what I was getting myself into walking into Eden Park, virtually glowing gold in a sea of black. I even had my name and the number 7 on the back of my jersey, and I expected rivalry, derision and malice. What I got instead rocked my New Zealand merino socks off.

At Mac’s pub in the afternoon I found myself chatting with strangers. About selection dramas, injuries etc. One Kiwi even said to me, “Bro, if you guys win tonight it’ll be the best night of your life. Good luck.”

I couldn’t believe it. In Sydney, when I bellow, “Go the Waratahs!” it’s the craggy old members of the same club who turn around and tell me to keep it down. And here I was in the enemy stronghold clinking glasses with a Kiwi and wishing him well in return.

At the stadium things were electric. I found my seat and I was surrounded on all sides by black. I shook everyone’s hand and said hello. With one exception, everyone shook my hand and with a lot of general back slapping and carry on we settled in for the anthems and haka.

And then came the onslaught.

During the match (much like my mate Roy) the Kiwis started getting more confident in their banter once they had a 30-point lead, but began clutching jackets and scarves once more as we put on two tries and nearly a runaway third. But throughout the whole match, as one the crowd lifted their voices every single time the All Blacks got over the gain line. I found myself in a position where I could have given in to my default Sydney attitude, started calling out head-high tackles and poor Wallaby passing as the reason the game was lost to us.

Instead, I turned to my black-clad neighbours and said, “Your boys are playing their hearts out tonight, we just can’t hold them off.” I started watching the game through Dale’s eyes, watching the game rather than the team, and I loved every minute.

When speaking about rugby and indeed during this entry, we refer frequently to fans or supporters. Read the Aussie media in the build up to a Bledisloe and then again after a loss, and what you’ll see is a great deal of hope mongering, and then a lot of finger pointing.

I am a supporter. I’m very proud of the Wallabies and I’m glad I made the trip. As for Auckland, the buzz is real, the hoodoo is tangible, the people are upbeat and positive. And as for the All Blacks, well, in my opinion you sensed a threat and you weren’t happy after the Sydney Test. You stepped up to the plate and you outplayed us, soundly.

Congratulations and see you in Brisbane.