All Blacks great highlights ‘astounding’ stats which should concern Scott Robertson against the Wallabies
All Blacks dejected after Springboks defeat and Harry Wilson scoring try during Wallabies' epic comeback win over South Africa.
Jeff Wilson is concerned about a trend which could cost the All Blacks during their games against the Wallabies in Auckland and Perth.
New Zealand take on Australia at Eden Park this weekend in the opening match of the Bledisloe Cup having held the trophy for the past 22 years.
It was in 2002 when the Wallabies last lifted the prestigious piece of silverware, but many think 2025 will be their best chance for several seasons.
Joe Schmidt’s men face an All Blacks outfit that have lost two of their past three matches, including their biggest-ever defeat when they succumbed 43-10 to the Springboks in Wellington.
Wallabies development
In contrast, Australia appear to have improved significantly under Schmidt and, after beating the British and Irish Lions in the third Test of the series, they stunned South Africa at Ellis Park.
They have shown their ability to stay the course in this Rugby Championship and Wilson pointed to their particularly impressive second-half performances.
The Wallabies have scored 85 points after the break while their trans-Tasman rivals have only managed to accrue 30 in the same period, with just three points coming in the third quarter.
“This is astounding,” Wilson said on The Breakdown. “We’ve scored three points in four Test matches just after half-time between 40 to 60 minutes. What’s troubling if you’re an All Blacks fan is the Wallabies come home strong.
“Now they’ve been digging some holes, getting themselves into some real trouble, and they’ve had to do it in the very dying minutes of Test matches, but they believe in minutes 60 to 80 they can win any Test match.
“Imagine if they start to get the first half right. Let’s imagine they got out to a flier, imagine, say, we got charged down early, imagine we gave away a few penalties and kicked some goals.
“All of a sudden, they’ve got one thing in terms of belief – that they can finish. That’s something we haven’t shown in 18 months.”
Credit: The Breakdown
It is certainly an area head coach Scott Robertson will need to sort out if they are to stave off the threat of the Wallabies.
Australia will head to Auckland with far more confidence than they have had previously but, perhaps crucially, a couple of key players will not be there.
Will Skelton and Rob Valetini will both miss the encounter at Eden Park and, as a result, Wilson reckons the All Blacks will have enough to claim the victory despite their second-half woes.
Wallabies missing key players
“I’m confident. There’s no Will Skelton and Rob Valetini’s been ruled out for this game, and I thought they were two massive bodies that gave them some real punch, some real solidity up front,” he said.
“Skelton hasn’t been there for a couple of games but I still think they needed that size against us.
“The last 20-odd years, that’s still there. They’ve got to win both games. For me I’m confident in the response, I just want to see two really good weeks of preparation and performance.”
Fellow former All Black Stephen Donald agreed with Wilson about the gargantuan forwards but the ex-fly-half also had question marks around the 10 position.
“The point around Valetini and Skelton, when they’re not there the physicality has been missing. The other question mark is who’s at 10 for them,” Donald said.
“If it’s not O’Connor or it’s not Lynagh, I think they’ve got massive issues that the All Blacks are going to exploit.
“And then if you’re nervous, Eden Park and trying to break this hoodoo is not the place for you. It’s got to be O’Connor or Lynagh and if it’s neither, I consider it a pretty big ask and a bridge too far.”