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When is a Bledisloe Cup Trophy not the main game for Australian rugby? The answer should be never but it would seem from the machinations of Wallaby team selections over the past week that the Bledisloe Cup was not the main game.
It is unlikely that there were any rugby commentators, past players and probably even players who were not surprised and alarmed by Michael Cheika rolling out six changes for the Auckland Test. All and sundry believed it was a huge risk, underwritten by a desire to “test” team combinations leading into a World Cup.
Let’s understand this situation because it echoes like a volcanic eruption inside my head. A Bledisloe Cup decider was being used to test team combinations. Winning the Bledisloe Cup was not enough to make it the one and only focus for the Wallabies on Saturday.
The Bledisloe Cup is to Wallaby rugby what the Ashes are to Australian cricket. It is the pinnacle of Test rugby for Australian rugby. It is not a competition where we test combinations in order to win a different trophy.
Can we ever foresee an Australian cricket team using an Ashes deciding Test as a testing ground for batting or bowling combinations for an upcoming World Cup?
What is most surprising from the last week of Wallaby supporting is that, despite widespread alarm at the team selections and a broad understanding that the deciding Bledisloe Cup Test was indeed being used as a testing ground for team combinations, the number of commentators or past players willing to ask Michael Cheika why winning the Bledisloe Cup was not the one and only focus last Saturday was… zero.
Whichever way we look at what happened last week with the Wallabies it is hard not to acknowledge that the value of a Bledisloe Cup has been diminished by a willingness to make it the lesser trophy, and a willingness of rugby commentators not to question this.
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.