All Blacks ready for some Aussie niggle

How dialled in are the All Blacks? Put it this way, even Dane Coles is talking about turning the other cheek if the Wallabies bring back the niggle.

It was interesting to hear the upwardly mobile hooker, who is usually at the front of the queue when push comes to shove in the test arena, talk about the All Blacks’ mindset ahead of the potentially historic add-on Bledisloe at Eden Park in Auckland tomorrow.

Three significant streaks are on the line, topped by the chance to establish a world record 18th consecutive test victory by a top-tier nation. The All Blacks have also won 44 on the bounce at home, dating back to 2009, and haven’t lost on Eden Park since 1994 in a run that can reach 36 on Saturday night.

On the other side of the coin, the Wallabies haven’t beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 (19 straight defeats) and haven’t prevailed against the New Zealanders at the Garden of Eden since 1986 (16 failed attempts, and counting).

The one-sided rivalry is clearly getting old across the Tasman, and it was noticeable in Bledisloe II in Wellington on August 27 that the Australians brought a deliberately niggly approach in the wake of their 42-8 Sydney shellacking. It worked marginally, with the Wallabies still well beaten, 29-9.

Asked if he expected a similar approach on Saturday, Coles’ response was diplomacy and restraint at its best.

‘‘We don’t intentionally go out there to bring the niggle but if they do [bring it] I think we’ve probably got to react a little faster than we did in Wellington, and I suppose be a bit more task focused.

‘‘If they do bring it we’ll match it in the rules, but we’re pretty keen just to play footy and get on with the job.’’ React, er, faster? Coles: ‘‘We probably learnt a good lesson in Wellington. We probably got caught up a bit and it affected us a bit. It was a good lesson. If it comes out we’ll deal with it, but we’re pretty keen to play a bit of footy and leave that stuff for another day.’’

Nice. Clearly the hooker was singing off the hymn sheet, for his coach had earlier espoused a similar philosophy on any niggle on its way.

‘‘They’ll be coming at us, but we’ve just got to make it tough for them to do that,’’ said Steve Hansen. ‘‘They’ve improved a lot from when we played them [last]. They came off the series against England with a lack of confidence and we probably hurt them in those first two games. But since then they’ve grown in stature.’’

Coles doubted any complacency would slip into the All Blacks this week, especially not with that record on the line.

‘‘There are a lot of factors with this test and there’s no room to be complacent. We’re playing an Aussie outfit and we’re putting the All Black jersey on, so we’re pretty keen for a good performance.

‘‘It’s pretty motivating to have the chance to create a bit of history.’’