Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Wallabies’ clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park.
My name is Christy Doran and I will be with you on the blog, and we have Iain Payten back on the ground at the Garden of Eden. All our game coverage and Payto’s match report, as well as Peter FitzSimons’ reaction, will be right here, so don’t miss a second and stay with us this evening.
The All Blacks are the favourites. Of course they are. The three-time world champions are on a 53-match unbeaten streak at Eden Park, which is a streak dating back to 1994. The Wallabies’ hoodoo at Eden Park is even longer: 40 years. Does it end tonight? If it does, the Wallabies will keep the Bledisloe Cup alive for another week, with Les Kiss’s men needing to deny the All Blacks victory across the two Tests to win back the prized piece of silverware for the first time since 2002.
But the All Blacks are under pressure. Dave Rennie’s side have lost three straight, having lost the Greatest Rivalry against the Springboks 3-1. It will also be Rennie’s first time entering the Bledisloe Cup with the expectation to win it, having lost three series as Wallabies coach (2020-22). He is the last man to lead the Wallabies to a win against the All Blacks though (November 2020), with the men in gold on an 11-match losing streak against the All Blacks.
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