Wallabies facing dubious record

Another loss to the All Blacks on Saturday would place the Wallabies in the record books as the only Australian team to lose two Test series 3-0 in one year.

The Wallabies are expecting no relief from the rampant All Blacks as they fight to avoid another unwanted place in the Australian rugby record books.

No Wallabies team in more than a century of Test match rivalries has ever suffered two 3-0 series drubbings in a single season.

But that is the fate Michael Cheika's men face if they can't conquer the world champions at their Eden Park fortress on Saturday.

A humiliating series whitewash on home soil against Eddie Jones's resurgent England before 42-8 and 29-9 hammerings at the hands of the All Blacks have left the Wallabies staring down the barrel.

And there could be even more pain to come, with a grand slam tour of Britain throwing up the possibility of the Wallabies enduring their most Test losses ever in a calendar year.

Already, the Wallabies' three-from-nine success rate in 2016 is their worst since Jones was sacked after coaching the national team to just five wins from 13 Tests in 2005.

Cheika is under no such pressure, having re-signed this year until the end of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

But the reigning international coach of the year is certainly eager to reverse his side's fortunes, having guided Australia to last year's World Cup final in a memorable 2015 campaign that yielded 10 wins against just two losses - both to the All Blacks.

The Wallabies, though, know full well they face a mammoth task ending an infamous 30-year losing streak against New Zealand at Eden Park, where the All Blacks haven't been beaten by any opposition in 36 Tests stretching back to 1994.

"That's a fair few generations of Wallabies and we have the opportunity," said Wallabies' returning back-row star David Pocock.

"We know it's going to be tough so we're preparing well this week and going over and playing the No.1 team in the world, we expect it to be a tough Test match and no doubt it will be just that."

Pocock expects no complacency from the All Blacks, despite their having already clinched the Bledisloe Cup for a 14th straight year.

Nor does he suspect their trans-Tasman rivals to be feeling the pressure of trying to claim a world-record 18th consecutive Test victory.

Instead he is challenging the Wallabies to match the All Blacks for skill and intensity for the entire 80 minutes after "we were found wanting" in both areas in Sydney and Wellington.

"In those big games, particularly against teams like New Zealand, you drop off for 10 minutes and that's the game," Pocock said.

Cheika will name his team on Thursday afternoon before flying to Auckland.


Share
3 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world