Wallabies taking aim at New Zealand's wobbly Wellington record
Ask anyone
But if a chink of light exists for the beleaguered Wallabies, it could be the selection of Wellington as the venue for Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup clash.
Australia has been spared the Eden Park cauldron this year, where the All Blacks stand unbeaten in an incredible 50 Tests.
They will instead face New Zealand at Wellington’s Regional Stadium, known locally as the Cake Tin, where the All Blacks haven’t won in five Tests and six years.
That run includes one Bledisloe Test – Dave Rennie’s first outing as coach in 2020 – when Australia battled to a hugely commendable 16-all draw, with Reece Hodge sending a 50-metre kick into the post after 80 minutes.
“It was an arm-wrestle of a match that one,” Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, a survivor from that clash, said.
“A tight contest but we’re hoping that this isn’t a tight contest and we can get a result this week.
“It’s good to be back here in Wellington and hopefully we can turn it around.”
New Zealand’s shocking run in the capital includes a loss earlier this season to Argentina and a 2022 defeat to Ireland which nearly cost coach Ian Foster his job before a redemptive win in South Africa.
As well as the 16-all draw with Australia, the All Blacks shared the same scoreline with South Africa in 2019.
Steve Hansen’s side were also beaten by the Springboks in 2018 in another thriller: a 34-36 loss.
Looking a lot further back, Wellington was also the venue involved in Australia’s last Bledisloe Cup sweep, in 2000.
This week, the Wellington hoodoo is a big talking point in New Zealand, but Salakaia-Loto isn’t buying in.
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“I don’t read too much into that,” he said.
“Any team enjoys playing at home, and it’s the All Blacks in New Zealand, so it’s always going to be a tough match,” he added.
Dylan Pietsch is another with fond memories of the Kiwi capital, registering his international debut back in 2007 alongside Tate McDermott in the now-abandoned Wellington Sevens.
“Good memories, great field and a great place to be,” he said.
Given Australia cannot avoid the Rugby Championship wooden spoon, coach Joe Schmidt may feel it could be time to throw Pietsch in, given Marika Koroibete’s underwhelming form.
“I’d always love to start,” Pietsch said, before calling Koroibete “world-class”.
“We gotta respect what he’s done in the past and what he does every week.
“I’m more than happy to start but I understand that Marika is there and is one of the best.”
NO CAPITAL RETURNS: NEW ZEALAND’S ORDINARY RUN IN WELLINGTON
2024 – All Blacks 30-38 Argentina
2022 – All Blacks 22-32 Ireland
2020 – All Blacks 16-all Australia
2019 – All Blacks 16-all South Africa
2018 – All Blacks 34-36 South Africa.
* Photos by Julius Dimataga
