Believe it or not, Wallabies believe

THE Wallabies have set themselves the outrageous aim of keeping the All Blacks scoreless as they bid to blow the Bledisloe Cup series wide open with a Game 1 statement on Saturday night.

Insisting they carry no psychological scars from 16 years of Bledisloe poundings, the Wallabies will return to ANZ Stadium full of belief after breaking a seven-Test trans-Tasman losing streak with victory in the 2017 finale in Brisbane.

Sydney has been a horror scene for Australian fans the past two years, with the All Blacks running rampant in 42-8 and 54-34 routs before wrapping up series wins in New Zealand.

But buoyed by an attacking blitz of 45 unanswered points in 44 minutes to finish Game 1 last year and start Game 2 in Dunedin, where they suffered a last-minute loss, the Wallabies earnestly believe 2018 will be different. Five-eighth Bernard Foley says it all comes down to defence.

“It’s not how many points you can score. It’s how much you restrict them to,” Foley said on Wednesday.

“That’s something we learnt throughout the June series [against Ireland]. I always back our attack when our defence is solid, when we’re able to halt momentum.”

Asked how many points the Wallabies hoped to limit the All Blacks to on Saturday, Foley was unequivocal. “Zero,” he said. Having cleared a mighty mental hurdle with their 23-18 win last October, Foley believes Michael Cheika’s introduction of an in-house trial a fortnight before the series opener will also rid the Wallabies of any physical rust — and hopefully the slow starts.

“The last couple of years I’ve thought we prepared really well, but we were lacking game time,” he said. “That’s why we probably missed the jump the last two years, which has probably been the difference in the Bledisloe campaigns.”