Preview: New Zealand v Australia
It has been 28 long years since Australia last won at Auckland's Eden Park. That is a very long time between drinks.
It is not surprising then that there has been some additional hype surrounding Saturday's Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship showdown between the All Blacks and Wallabies at this iconic venue.
It was on 6 September 1986 when an Australian team littered with legends like David Campese, Michael Lynagh and Nick Farr-Jones wrote their own chapter in the game's folklore - recording a 22-9 win for the Wallabies first-ever series victory on New Zealand soil.
Since that day Wallaby victories on the New Zealand side of the Tasman Sea have been few and far between - just six in 33 visits, the last on 11 August 2001 at the famous House of Pain, Dunedin's Carisbrook Stadium.
Australia's most recent win over New Zealand was three years ago, 27 August 2011, in Brisbane.
The Wallabies came close, a 12-all draw, in a wet Sydney last week.
It is a game the All Blacks would rather forget.
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said there were areas of the All Blacks' game in the first Test in Sydney that they were very poor at and if they wanted to retain the Bledisloe Cup they would have to go up "about 10-12 notches".
"If we play well enough we get to control the game and if we control the game we give ourselves a chance of winning it," he said.
"We didn't play well enough," Hansen told reporters in Auckland.
"We have had an honest review and people in this group have been honest for quite some time so when we don't play well people put their hands up go about working on it and improving and we expect that to happen in the weekend."
The Wallabies feel the same about their performance, when they let slip a rare chance to get one over on their trans-Tasman cousins.
"We can't afford to have a bad day at the office," Australian coach Ewen McKenzie told reporters.
"So you've got to make sure you aren't going backwards.
"You have got to be able to get parity at least and then you've got a platform to play with."
McKenzie insists there's a completely different vibe as his team strive to end a drought and keep the Bledisloe series alive this weekend.
"We know we can improve a lot on last week so we've been focusing on that," he said.
"We know what we are capable of and we know we were off the pace at key moments.
"We expect to do better this week.
"We want [New Zealand] to bring their A-game because we are going to bring ours."
Players to watch:
For New Zealand: You will always watch the All Blacks' collection of Smiths - Ben, Conrad and Aaron. The spotlight will be on flyhalf Aaron Cruden, as he is the man that will have to pull the strings. Kieran Read was below his best last week, Richie McCaw pushed the envelope and Liam Messam will relish a rare start in the All Black jersey. Wyatt Crockett, the most penalised prop in the world, will also be in the spotlight - mainly because of his lack of discipline.
For Australia: It starts with Israel Folau at fullback and with fine, albeit fresh, conditions predicted we may well see more of his attacking prowess. Kurtley Beale will also be in the spotlight again as the team's preferred choice at flyhalf. The tight forwards - Rob Simmons, Sam Carter, Sekope Kepu, Nathan Charles and James Slipper have a crucial role to play - especially in the scrums.
Head to head: It doesn't get much better than Ben Smith (New Zealand) versus Israel Folau (Australia), when the conditions allow for a more expansive game. Conrad Smith (New Zealand) versus Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia) is always worth more than a cursory glance, while the big backline battle will be at flyhalf - Aaron Cruden (New Zealand) against Kurtley Beale (Australia). The most intriguing of the head-to-head contests up front - apart from the obvious scrum battle - will be at the breakdown, Richie McCaw (New Zealand) against Michael Hooper (Australia, captain against captain, openside against openside.
Recent results:
2014: Australia and New Zealand drew 12-all, Sydney
2013: New Zealand won 41-33, Dunedin
2013: New Zealand won 27-16, Wellington
2013: New Zealand won 47-29, Sydney
2012: Australia and New Zealand drew 18-all, Brisbane
2012: New Zealand won 22-0, Auckland
2012: New Zealand won 27-19, Sydney
2011: New Zealand won 20-6, Auckland (World Cup semifinal)
2011: Australia won 25-20, Brisbane
2011: New Zealand won 30-14, Auckland
Prediction: Against all nations the All Blacks have won their last 32 Test matches at Eden Park, with France in 1994 the last visiting side to win in the stadium. No player made more than 36 metres with the ball in hand in the reverse fixture in Sydney, Aaron Smith topping the charts in the low-scoring draw. Richie McCaw completed all 20 tackles he attempted in the match between these sides last week, at least four more than anybody else. Israel Folau managed to beat a match high five defenders in round one, that is as many as the entire New Zealand starting XV managed in total. We have a feeling that Australia blew their chance to get a rare win over New Zealand and with the All Blacks rarely producing two consecutive poor performances, the Eden Park drought will continue - New Zealand by about 10 points.
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.
Date: Saturday, August 23
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19.35 (17.35 Australia time; 07.35 GMT)
Expected weather: Fine. Southerlies, fresh in exposed places. High of 15°C, low of 2°C
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
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