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Circumstances may be different, in more ways than one, but the main goal remains the same for the All Blacks: to lock up the Bledisloe Cup for one more year.
The All Blacks embarked on their first and only overseas trip of 2020 on Sunday and, as if needing a reminder of how unique it is to travel abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic, they received a courtesy from a sparsely populated international terminal. at Auckland airport.
But that wasn’t the only thing on their minds as they headed through the ditch to the Tri Nations, which begins with the third and fourth rounds of the Bledisloe Cup.
With the Wallabies holding Ian Foster’s team to a 1-0 lead after the first two tests in New Zealand, the next two games are the first in some time that the All Blacks have had a chance to wrap up the series. trans-Tasman in Australia. .
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* All Blacks vs Australia: Caleb Clarke propels New Zealand to the redemption of Bledisloe
2009 was the last time that happened, when the team led by Richie McCaw followed an opening victory in Auckland with another in Sydney before completing a 4-0 sweep in Wellington and Tokyo.
Since then, the Bledisloe Cup has generally started in Australia and on occasions when the Wallabies have been able to snatch the early lead, the All Blacks have generally had the luxury of defending the trophy in their stronghold of Eden Park, such as last year. or in 2015.
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Ian Foster is enjoying his first overseas tour as the head coach of the All Blacks.
This weekend’s test at ANZ Stadium is not a must-win for the All Blacks, but it is for the Wallabies and Foster is adopting exactly that same mentality in Saturday’s clash as he seeks to avoid a decisive match in Brisbane.
“It’s not something we’ve had to do often, we never had to go back and win the Bledisloe in Australia,” the All Blacks coach said. “From the way the draw has been in the last decade, we’ve always played the Australian first, so the big, crunchy matches have generally been in New Zealand. Now he’s in Sydney.
“We know that going back there, the next one will be huge. It’s life or death for them and, in many ways, it’s life or death for us. So we have a short-term focus and Bledisloe remains our number one priority. After that, we will start to think about Argentina ”.
The All Blacks team had time to cool off after the first two tryouts, but aside from “eating some grass,” Foster has been fully focused on his first overseas assignment as head coach.
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All Blacks captain Same Cane said the only goal is to beat the Wallabies this weekend and lock out the Bledisloe Cup.
After the opening draw in Wellington, the All Blacks responded appropriately at Eden Park last week. But Foster has no doubt that they’ll need to keep improving against a Wallabies team that has shown great promise under new coach Dave Rennie.
“We still have a few more steps in us, we know that,” he said.
“It’s an exciting time. It’s an opportunity to go, first trip abroad this year, and play in Australia. We’ve seen in the last two tests how consistent these teams are and it all comes down to preparation, so ‘we just have to make sure we do it. “
Captain Sam Cane echoed his coach’s thoughts on shutting down Bledisloe this weekend.
The Wallabies will be eager to perform at home and you just have to go back to last year’s loss in Perth to see what can happen if the All Blacks aren’t up to the challenge.
“To be honest it’s pretty tough,” Cane said of playing in Australia. “We haven’t always been as successful as we would have liked there, so that’s another challenge, playing Aussie at Aussie for Bledisloe, it hasn’t happened many times in recent years.
“Obviously we have four games there, but the only goal is this next test match and to do everything we can to put a good performance on and hopefully keep that trophy.”
Australia’s limited bubble with New Zealand allows non-quarantine travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory, meaning the All Blacks can prepare directly upon arrival.
However, Cane stressed the need to stay abreast of Covid-19 precautions after England’s match against the Barbarians was canceled due to a protocol violation by invitee team members.
“I guess it’s a pretty timely reminder for us to head over there where there’s a little bit more Covid floating around,” Cane said. “A reminder to stay alert, do all the little things, and hopefully we won’t have any of that during this [Tri Nations]. “
