The Bledisloe Cup series between Australia and New Zealand comes around each year as a high point of the Southern Hemisphere rugby season. This year it arrives with both teams at a low ebb and as a moment of desperation more than celebration.
The Wallabies come into Saturday’s first Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney on the back of a humbling 67-27 loss to Argentina.
The All Blacks have lost three Rugby Championship tests for the first time after back-to-back losses to South Africa and both teams have a 1-3 record in the Championship of which the Bledisloe Cup is a part.
Saturday’s match and the return match in Wellington next weekend will go a long way to deciding the further direction of the season for both teams and for their coaches. After the Rugby Championship both teams head to the Northern Hemisphere for matches which could result in further losses.
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt both come from backgrounds of considerable success.
Robertson coached the Christchurch-based Crusaders to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles. Schmidt coached Leinster to Heineken Cup and Pro-12 titles and Ireland to its first Six Nations Grand Slam.
Both are unaccustomed to the problems and consequences which come with losses and both seem to be feeling their way towards a solution through selection and tactical adjustment.
Both were appointed to turn around struggling teams. Schmidt was appointed to replace Eddie Jones after the Wallabies’ disastrous World Cup performance. Robertson was appointed before the World Cup, apparently in anticipation of a poor performance by the All Blacks. Instead, the All Blacks reached the final under former head coach Ian Foster which made Robertson’s appointment seem premature.
Roberson inherited a diminished team after the retirements or departures of players such as Richie Mo’unga, Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick and he has struggled since to instill depth and confidence.
Both coaches are in need of rapid solutions to a number of problems ahead of Saturday’s test. The Wallabies’ game, especially their defensive game, collapsed in the second test against Argentina and after leading 20-3, they conceded 64 points in 49 minutes.
Schmidt hasn’t responded with sweeping changes to his lineup for Saturday’s test, rather has re-integrated several players who have been absent through injury including livewire scrumhalf Nic White.
“For me it’s all about process driven,” Schmidt said. “Can we get better at that and that? A couple of the things that we didn’t do well (against Argentina).
“Can we see marked improvement in those areas and can we retain some real positives? We were 20 points to three up after 30 minutes so the catastrophe that it was, wasn’t for 80 minutes.”
Robertson also has made changes mostly dictated by injury. The return of left winger Caleb Clarke from a back injury has caused him to rearrange his back three with Will Jordan moving to the right wing and Beauden Barrett returning from the bench to fullback.
Robertson has struggled to overcome a lack of impact from the reserves bench and that problem remains on Saturday. The All Blacks haven’t scored a point in the last quarter of four Rugby Championship matches, a consequence of not being able to take chances under pressure.
“Look, we’re playing some good footy,” Robertson said. “I want to try to be a bit more optimistic here because, man, we’re one pass away many times.
“We want to build off what we’ve done but be more ruthless with our actions to finish games, give those passes, kick those goals and nail those little moments.”
Both teams have suffered from a lack of cool heads at crucial moments. Leadership and communication are critical both in closing out matches and in winning key moments and both teams have lacked that quality.
The All Blacks will retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 22nd season in a row if they win on Saturday while the Wallabies have to win to keep the series alive. The match has the potential to be a turning point for both teams.
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