All Blacks v Australia: ‘Do or die’ for both teams at Bledisloe III in Sydney

ANALYSIS: Ian Foster’s All Blacks must not waste this opportunity to crush the Wallabies rebellion.

To do so would be to retreat into the quagmire the All Blacks were drawn from when they won Bledisloe II 27-7 in Auckland a fortnight ago.

If the All Blacks fail to beat the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday night, head coach Foster may be thankful to be stationed in Australia, thousands of miles from his homeland.

Being out of New Zealand would protect him from the debate that is sure to resume if the All Blacks lose to the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium, but that may be only half of your concerns.

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For starters, there’s the Bledisloe Cup issue. A loss would force the All Blacks to travel to Brisbane for the fourth and final game of the series, knowing they must win or draw to ensure the trophy is not exchanged for the first time since 2002.

Then there’s the question of how it would affect the psyche of Foster’s team; Not only would the excellent job that the All Blacks did in Auckland be instantly forgotten, but questions would be raised about the strength of the players, the application to their graft and the game plan.

Foster will not need to be reminded of what is at stake. He will be desperate to lock up the Bledisloe and show that his men have the desire to secure the poor performance in Bledisloe I, when the All Blacks broke through to a 16 draw in Wellington, it does not reflect what the class of 2020 are about. .

Captain Sam Cane and his team are in the unique position of trying to defend the trophy on Australian soil; That is something that no player on the team has experienced and will have been a focus during preparation.

“It would be a very special achievement for this group to not have a player (who has) done it,” Foster said.

“It just made this challenge a little different. We got into this position with the tie in the first test, so it has opened the door for them (for the Wallabies).

“We have to make sure we show our colors when we play away from home, that we can still improve our performance no matter which country we are in.”

Both Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and Foster have made changes to their running teams.

Injuries to James O’Connor and Matt To’omua have forced Rennie to start rookies Noah Lolesio and Irae Simone at 10th and 12th, respectively, and Jordan Petaia will earn his fifth spot at center.

Dane Haylett-Petty, the most experienced at the baseline with 37 caps, will make his first series start at fullback.

Rennie can only envy Foster’s depth and expertise; Foster has recovered the 118-shell Sam Whitelock padlock from a concussion. Loose-headed prop Joe Moody has not recovered from a blow to the head, replaced by Karl Tu’inukuafe.

However, it’s Hoskins Sotutu’s naming at number 8 that really gets the blood pumping.

With Ardie Savea unavailable after the birth of her second child, Sotutu has the opportunity to kick-start her power play from the start; If Lolesio and Simone are to be reminded that Sotutu will try to run towards them, they better stay on the bus before the start of the match.

The return of midfielder Ngani Laumape, who broke an arm at Super Rugby Aotearoa, to the bench means Foster can add a brutal impact player to the action within the fourth quarter.

Foster is undoubtedly grateful to have Laumape in his arsenal. You can only hope your players don’t waste this opportunity.

“We know the Wallabies will put in a lot of effort this week. It’s a do or die for them, ” Foster said.

And that’s the way they’re going to see it. The key is that we also have to do it or die for ourselves. ”