Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has Everest to climb on Saturday night, when a wounded All Black squad runs onto their Eden Park fortress looking to retain the Bledisloe Cup.
Having lost 27-19 at ANZ Stadium last Saturday, the All Blacks will grow an extra leg with the coveted Cup – that the men in black have owned since 2002 – at stake.
But fear not, Eden Park has also been the venue for two historic Wallaby successes – September 24, 1949, and September 6, 1986.
The Bledisloe started in 1932 when Lord Bledisloe, the Governor-General of New Zealand, donated the huge trophy for regular competition between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.
It took 17 years for the Wallabies to win the Bledisloe, with a 16-9 success at Eden Park, having led 8-0 at the break.
The Wallaby team that historic day was (1) Bevan Wilson (2) Nev Cottrell, (3) Jack Baxter, (4) Rex Mossop (5) Nick Shehadie, (6) Dave Brockhoff, (7) Col Windon, (8) Keith Cross, (9) Cyril Burke, (10) Nev Emery, (11) Ralph Garner (12) Jack Blomley, (13) Trevor Allan (c), (14) John Solomon and (15) Roy Cawsey.
The numbering is not strictly correct. In 1949 the fullback wore 1, the loose-head prop 15, with the numbering changed in 1967 to the fullback wearing 15 and the loose-head prop 1.
But what a side.
Allan is still the best outside centre I’ve ever seen, Mossop became a dual international and hosted the one of Australia’s best sports shows on Channel Seven. Shehadie was knighted and became Sydney’s Lord Mayor, chairman of the ARU, and a host of other boards including the SCG Trust, and SBS.
Brockhoff became Wallaby coach in his own quaint way – he was a great bloke – while Emery, the senior master at Shore, always wanted to be a Test cricketer but ended up a Wallaby. His son Phil always wanted to be a Wallaby and ended up a Test and ODI cricketer.
Cross became a famous surgeon, Windon a Wallaby legend.
(This in from David Gordon: “Cross was not a famous surgeon – that honour lies with Merv Cross who played 1st grade League whilst studying medicine, an amazing feat when you consider the demands of both pursuits. Keith became a chartered accountant having a highly successful career as a partner with Price Waterhouse.”)
The All Black line-up that day was (1) Des O’Donnell, (2) Arthur Hughes, (3) Jack Bond, (4) Thomas Budd, (5) Tiny White (6) Bert Lunn, (8) Harry Rowley, (9) Vince Bevan, (10) Ben Couch, (11) John McLean, (12) Ray O’Callaghan, (13) John Smith (c), (14) Roy Roper, and (15) Jack Kelly.
Emery, Solomon, and Windon scored tries for the Wallabies, Allan kicked a conversion and a penalty, Cawsey a conversion.
Roper scored the only try for the All Blacks, O’Callaghan kicked a penalty, Smith a drop goal.
The crowd was 25,000. The referee was Lesley Walker, who is still alive and will turn 102 on October 26.
Next Wallaby cab off the Eden Park rank was Alan Jones’ side, led by Andy Slack.
Having won the first Test in windy Wellington 13-12, Welsh referee Derek Bevan denied Steve Tuynman a legal pushover try, and the Wallabies lost 13-12. Eden Park was the decider, on a miserable day on a soggy pitch.
Early in the game Wallaby prop Topo Rodriguez head-on stopped a rampaging Hika Reid and drove him back well away from the Wallaby tryline. That was the early show of commitment to the entire Wallaby side, and they ran out easy winners 22-9, having led 12-6 at the break.
The side that day was (1) Rodriguez, (2) Tommy Lawton, (3) Mark Harthill, (4) Steve Cutler, (5) Bill Campbell, (6) Jeff Miller, (7) Simon Poidevin, (8) Steve Tuynman, (9) Nick Farr-Jones, (10) Michael Lynagh, (11) Matt Burke, (12) Brett Papworth, (12) Andrew Slack (c), (14) David Campese and (15) on debut Andrew Leeds.
The All Blacks – (1) Steve McDowell, (2) Reid, (3) Gary Knight, (4) Gary Whetton, (5) Murray Pierce, (6) Mark Shaw, (7) Jock Hobbs, (8) Mike Brewer, (9) David Kirk (c), (10 Frano Botica, (11) Craig Green, (12) Arthur Stone, (13) Joe Stanley, (14) John Kirwan, and (15) Kieran Crawley.
Campese and Leeds scored tries for the Walabies, while Lynagh landed a conversion and four penalties.
For the All Blacks, Crowley kicked three penalties.
The crowd was 48,000, the referee Brian Anderson from Scotland.
So there you have it, Eden Park hoodoos can be overcome.
And not that Cheika needs reminding, but he has a 100 per cent record against the All Blacks.
The next best is Rod Macqueen, with five wins from seven attempts for 71.42 per cent. But coaching four Bledisloe-winning series in 1998, ’99, 2000 and ’01 was the main reason for such a high and thoroughly deserved ranking.
The ball is now in Cheika’s court. He has the chance to overturn the hoodoo.
And he will.
HiKa
Roar Rookie
Machooka, that would be 4 Top 10 teams in our group with current rankings having Aust at 3, England 4, Wales 6 and Fiji 9.
Birdy
Guest
I thought I spotted a couple of occasions when the WBs looked a bit early moving up, but thought generally they skirted the offside line quite well. Their line-speed was good which made some of the close calls look worse, but I didn't get the sense they were offside the whole night.
WQ
Guest
It's just a bit of a shame he didn't keep penalising them for being off side the whole night!!
joeys78
Guest
Wrong Burke. Matt (86) was one of twins both of whom played for the Wallabies, Matt being part of the 84 grand slam side. Both are products of Waverly, unlike full back Burke who is a Joeys product.
Brady
Guest
While you people in the deep North have adopted Kylie and Rolf I suspect you will find that most Australians are happy with that arrangemnt and hold Acca Dacca in far greater esteem as cultural icons. We must be made of sterner stuff down here, none of your perceived issues seem to be much of a problem.
Rob G
Guest
Good stuff David!!!! I am optimistic too. Go the Wallabies
Nick
Guest
Interesting and very reasonable Id say As much as it pains me as an ABs fan, you might be right
Jigbon
Guest
Bushranger I remember the great rugby writer evan Whitton talking about matt Burke ( the fullback one) being the most balanced rugby player he had ever seen when Burke was a schoolboy at joeys. He waxed lyrical then about how good Burke was and would be and how right he was. When at his peak he was brilliant. Unfortunately I felt he never regained his greatness after the punishing knee injury he sustained. ....is that what happened to Genia???? Also unfortunately for burkey he was always up against Christian Cullen as his opposite number. Arguably the. Greatest fullback I've ever seen. Two greats at the one time ....magic.
albatross
Guest
Statistically speaking the odds are forever growing in the Wallabies favour. With every loss at Eden Park, a win gets closer. They'll win one eventually, undoubtedly. Whether or not it's this year remains to be seen. My gut feeling says that it wont be though.
Birdy
Guest
With 'BS' I only meant that most coaches these days always lavishly praise their upcoming opponents regardless of what they actually think. So I don't know whether Rowntree believes WB scrum problems are solved etc etc. I think he'd say this regardless. Much of what comes out of coaches mouths before a game can be safely dismissed as either mind games; trying to influence refs; or ensuring they don't do the team talk for the opposition.
taylorman
Roar Guru
The single biggest reason this is tough for Aussie is the ground. The travel, away from home, and playing at probably the toughest ground on the planet. The boys are away from home- where they were able to stamp their mark- here they visit. Its all unfamiliar, and if it is familiar it will be about losing last time. Interesting match up alright.
WQ
Guest
Still struggling to see how Cheika has history on his side out of this article. Am I missing something?
Ted
Roar Rookie
It's simply not correct to dismiss the RWC draw path and pool s . NZ and SA have guaranteed Qtr finals having played no opposition in Group.with NZ no opposition in Qtr Even abject failure gets them through as 2nd in group . oz Wales and Eng could be dumped/ advanced just on points differences impact with Uraguay . To get to Final France will have to only beat either Ireland or England or Oz. one big game. If oz comes second on goal differences we play Boks then NZ before final. If we win those we get France or Ireland. You pick . Point is like tennis you don't have to beat everyone , that is also the job of others in a knockout . Eg semi 1999 when France cleared out NZ for us Soft path is clearly the most helpful in attritional tournament. Finally a soft group gives a second chance. Eg For Paris WC , England got mullered by South Africa in Group , lived to take us out in Marseille and played Boks in final . Beware the points difference impact on Group A either for both top 2 or just for 2nd slot.
Peter Doyle
Guest
David, Why does everybody forget 1978, Australia beat NZ 30-16 at Eden Park (sure it was the dead rubber in a Bledisloe Cup, but a record victory) and Greg Cornelsen scored 4 tries. That was one helluva victory. Cheers Peter.
Ted
Roar Rookie
Ted said | August 12th 2015 @ 8:04pm | Edit your comment. (Up to 10 minutes available to edit.) | Report comment I see Eden as a poisoned chalice. What we need is a very solid game . We don’t NEED a win to go forward to RWC Wins V Boks, Argies ABs all strong finishing plus a solid game Saturday. That’s what we need . A win would be great – BUT – remember at RWC ( if we advance from Pool A ) we face NZ in either Semi or final . Three wins Over the ABS in a row is beyond any reasonable expectation. If we meet in Semi (2nd in pool) we will also have just played and beaten BOKs in qtrs. for me save my next win V NZ for the one that counts. Also lot of talk about selection V NZ as if that is same set of needs as playing other RWC teams. We will have 4 pool matches. Uruguay and Fiji can be very relevant . It is a likely event that Oz /Eng/ Wales each win one and lose one to each other. If so the for and against points will, decide top 2 . Sad but true We need incisive players in group to pile on the points in those games as eng and Wales will be tight . Finally there is no win at RWC without field position kickers in backs, high penalty % , and long range penalties and drop goals . Therefore for all above its Toomua , Quade, Giteau , Beale -all flexible positions -( sorry Foley – no strategic kick, goal kick, running X factor no bench flex – good but just short) genia , White ( sorry Phipps this is a knockout competition) the rest pick themselves with depth options. For a mom remember poor Robbie Deans with up to 20 injuries at one point and no further depth. Cross fingers our key guys stay fit Pocock, Sio, and Kepu . We are in with a show but need to Top pool A , 2nd place will be knackered by time final comes after beating Boks and NZ. Reply
Jerry
Guest
The winner of the TN has never won the RWC but Aus held the Bled in 1999 and NZ held it in 2011.
Machooka
Roar Guru
Thanks Birdy... not quiet sure what you mean by 'BS'. Although, going out on a limb, I'm thinking that 'bum fodder' could come in handy :) Aaah yes... 'Eden Park with interest.' Should be absolutely fascinating !?
Jerry
Guest
Dwyer's got a bit of myopia about that, to be honest. Firstly, the Wallabies did it fairly often too. Secondly, Kaino didn't 'raise his hand from the ground to do it', he made a clear move to put his arms out of the way when Phipps had cleared the ball. Thirdly, if you rely on G&GR for your analysis, you're gonna get a fairly skewed version of the 'facts'.
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Daniel, did you read Bob Dwyer's account of the All Blacks loitering offside and interfering with our halfback? Here's the quote from my favourite website, Green and Gold Rugby: "One of the things that will help us in future games was that the ref was unbelievabley tolerant of some clear and consistent illegal New Zealand tactics. There were three yellow cards but the most consistent deliberate infringement was a player in black lying on the ground and interfering with the wallaby nine’s ball, thereby causing inaccurate passes. At least two were clear penalties – in one occasion Kaino actually raised his hand from the ground to do it. Assuming the ref re-looks at the game I think he’ll see what I mean."
Birdy
Guest
Yes; watched the game with interest. Thought the Wallabies gameplan was spot-on, but helped by a strangely dumb AB tactical effort. A bit like the Tahs-Saders match where the Kiwi team went too wide too early; overran their support and allowed Hooper and particularly Pocock to dominate the breakdown. Also I've never seen so many ABs fall off tackles so much. I thought the WBs intensity was as good as I've seen it in recent times, but not sure of the significance for pool games against England and Wales which will be different. I think England and Wales would have gone up the middle a lot more and put bodies in the breakdown to knock Pocock and Hooper backwards. Lot's of talk in the press up here about it, along the lines of heightened WB threat etc. Rowntree, the England forwards coach has come out and praised the WBs to the hilt (scrum problems solved; massive RWC threat etc) the usual BS, but difficult to know what the England and Welsh coaching set-ups really made of it. Guarantee they'll be tuned into Eden Park with interest.