Rugby: Wallaby’s great David Campese ‘eats humble pie’ after saying the All Blacks lacked class

Australian rugby great David Campese has admitted that a lot can change in test rugby in a week.

Last week, the former winger said the 2020 version of the All Blacks was not up to the team’s historically high standards following a 16-16 draw in the opening clash of the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington.

But he admitted to eating a humble pie after Ian Foster’s team’s 27-7 victory in the second clash at Eden Park yesterday.

“Yes, I am eating a humble cake. I would just like to congratulate the All Blacks again,” Campese posted in a video on Instagram.

“Another great win. It’s always good to cheer people up before a game. Unfortunately, the Wallabies didn’t make it. I think the game just showed when the All Blacks are under pressure and play great.

“A great team effort and also the important thing was that they were hungry. The Wallabies seemed to think that last week’s game would help them this week. A very young team. We just need a few more leaders on the field and I have to realize that if we don’t have the ball we can’t win.

“Congratulations again. I’d like to thank all the All Blacks fans who gave me hell over the weekend. But that’s life. I can move on. I can handle it.”

Speaking to Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford at Newstalk ZB last Tuesday, Campese used the example of Rieko Ioane’s failed attempt at Wellington as a sign of the crumbling of what was once a consistently dominant team.

Ioane was denied his 25th test attempt after dropping the ball in his attempt to throw himself over the line, a mistake Campese believes would not have been allowed to happen in the past.

“In 1989 I got in trouble for the British Lions pass. All of Australia pocketed me, they attacked me and yet an All Black took a dive at the weekend and as soon as he dropped the ball I told my son Jason … ‘he didn’t write that down!’ – That’s not what normal All Blacks do.

“I know it’s a different era, I know I’m old, but that changed the game, that allowed the Wallabies to have some confidence in themselves and get back into the game, a little mistake.”

Campese went on to say that Ioane’s mistake was just one of many tests in Bledisloe’s opener from a team lacking the class of years past.

“You can see little things starting to show up that didn’t exist before, maybe a lot of older guys aren’t there like Kieran Read and obviously the Richie McCaws who were so ingrained in traditions and all that.

“Little things change games and that was just one of the things I noticed … also the amount of mistakes under pressure that the All Blacks made last week, yeah it’s the first test and we’ve been missing rugby but that it’s uncharacteristic of the All Blacks. “