At last, the kind of test we welcome
So the Bledisloe Cup’s become predictable? In this sporting year like no other, today’s muchawaited opener in Wellington looks, mercifully, anything but that.
Exactly 400 days since the All Blacks last played at home (against Tonga), new skipper Sam Cane will lead them onto Sky Stadium around 4pm as familiar hot favourites against Michael Hooper’s Wallabies, the buildup clouded with enough uncertainty to make this one of the more fascinating trans-Tasman tests.
Those curveballs continued yesterday when the All Blacks lost Beauden Barrett to a sore achilles tendon, handing Damian McKenzie the No 15 jersey for his first test in nearly two years.
For his team-mates in black, it’s three weeks short of a year since they last suited up, in the World Cup bronze medal match against Wales. Last time most of them were in Wellington they played North v South to an empty stadium, just five weeks ago.
‘‘Excitement is probably an understatement,’’ said Cane, who was told way back before Super Rugby’s Covid-19 hiatus in March that coach Ian Foster wanted him as skipper.
His pre-match message? ‘‘It’ll be about going out there and backing ourselves, trusting we’ve put in the work and knowing that, jeez it’s going to be a heck of a test match.
‘‘These ones always are. It’ll be physical and fast and it’ll test us physically and mentally and that’s what we want.’’
Weighing up everything, and reading the respective lineups, it looks one-way traffic, even allowing for the All Blacks having one fit Barrett – Jordie on the right wing – while Beauden and Scott sit out injured.
Bookmakers have the All Blacks as short as $1.08 and the Wallabies $ 6.70 in captain Hooper’s 100th test and former Wellington midfielder Dave Rennie’s first as coach.
Still, there’s that nagging doubt that it will go perfectly to script for a crowd of a tick over 30,000, likely the first non-sellout test at the Cake Tin since 2012 against Argentina. Largely, it’s the Rennie factor coupled with team-bonding lockdown, and the lack of any international formlines in 2020. The former New Zealand Under-20, Wellington, Manawatu, Chiefs and Glasgow coach built a reputation for gelling a side quickly, demanding high fitness and promoting a physical, fast style.
After the Brumbies beat the Reds 28-23 in an electric Super Rugby AU final, Rennie assembled his young squad in Sydney then crossed the Tasman just over a fortnight ago. They had three days of isolation in Christchurch then trained at Linwood Rugby Club, away from public gaze to try to plot the downfall of players he knows well, like Cane, whom he coached at the Chiefs.
‘‘Too right it’s been strange,’’ said Hooper, via Zoom call from Christchurch.
‘‘It’s been rugby, rugby and then PlayStation for some of the guys. We’ve just been released and no face masks for us now. Are we ready? Yeah we’re ready.
‘‘Who would have thought at one point . . . any of us would be playing test rugby this year. We’re all so pumped.’’
Rennie named a side with few household names for diehard All Blacks fans. There’s a familiar face in James O’Connor at firstfive and three debutants in the run-on XV, all from Brad Thorn’s
Reds: No 8 Harry Wilson, wing Filipo Daugunu and centre Hunter Paisami.
Foster, in his first test lineup, 10 months after he was installed Steve Hansen’s successor, has quality all over the park with Richie Mo’unga steering the ship as he did so wonderfully for the
Crusaders. Up front there’s power and abrasive ball carriers, with lock Patrick Tuipulotu one of the more influential figures in Super Rugby Aotearoa along with Blues team-mate Rieko Ioane who played so well he dislodged the Anton Lienert-Brown-Jack Goodhue midfield pairing.
The forecast is for a dry, breezy afternoon and if the All Blacks seize control early a blowout could be on, the hosts steeled by a stellar season of domestic rugby. But after the year we’ve had, a few more twists and turns can’t be ruled out as this historic rivalry hits uncharted territory.