STAKES HIGH AS AUSSIES, ALL BLACKS SCRUM DOWN:
Wallabies, Kiwis have things to prove when Rugby Championship kicks off in Sydney
This test will give us a great opportunity to gauge where we are
THE All Blacks will be out to reassert their dominance as the wounded Wallabies look to the return of Kurtley Beale to trigger an upset in tomorrow’s Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.
The world champions have been reviewing what went wrong in their unexpected series draw with the British and Irish Lions at home last month and are hellbent on rebounding against the Australians in Sydney.
The Lions defied the odds to down the All Blacks 24-21 in Wellington to take their series to a decider, only for the final Auckland match to end in a 15-15 stalemate.
That inability to put away the Lions raised questions of whether the All Blacks’ era of dominance was on the wane after they were shocked by Ireland 40-29 in Chicago in November.
The All Blacks have dominated the Wallabies – losing only three of their last 29 trans-Tasman encounters – and are expected to do it again as Australian rugby looks to emerge from a woeful season.
Sonny Bill Williams returns for the New Zealanders after serving his four-match suspension, while Jerome Kaino has been dropped for the Olympic Stadium test.
In a revamped lineup with six changes from the last test side against the Lions, only halves Beauden Barrett and Aaron Smith remain from the starting backline, while Damian McKenzie gets his chance at fullback.
Double World Cup winner Williams has not played for seven weeks since being suspended for a dangerous shoulder charge and a straight red card in the second test against the Lions.
“We reviewed that [Lions] series comprehensively and the management have done a lot on it as well,” All Blacks skipper Kieran Read said.
“Hopefully, it will show in this championship what we’ve learnt.”
At stake against the Wallabies are not only points in the Rugby Championship, which includes South Africa and Argentina, but also the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy.
It has been firmly in New Zealand hands since 2003 and over the past 14 years the All Blacks and Wallabies have played each other 42 times with New Zealand winning 33, drawing two and losing seven.
“This test will give us a great opportunity to gauge where we are at when it comes to things we have been working on since the Lions tour,” coach Steve Hansen said.
The pressure is on coach Michael Cheika and his Wallabies after their shock home loss to Scotland in June and coming off a dreadful Super Rugby season where Australian sides were 0-26 against Kiwi opposition.
The return of inside-back Beale for his first test since the World Cup final with New Zealand at Twickenham on October 30 2015 is seen as a boost for the ailing Aussies.
Beale, who now plays for London Wasps, has an extraordinary record against the All Blacks in Australia, with two wins, two draws and a single defeat in five tests since 2011.
Playmaker Beale will be starting with other Wallaby kingpins Israel Folau and Bernard Foley for the first time, despite being test mainstays for most of their careers.
There is also mounting pressure on Cheika, who like most recent Australia coaches, has a losing record against the All Blacks – just one win from six – among an overall 56% success rate.
Livewire back McKenzie will win his third cap after Hansen decided to rest Israel Dagg and move Ben Smith to the right wing in his place.
“Regarding Israel, we feel that he could do with an extra week’s preparation and Jordie Barrett is injured, so it becomes obvious that Damian is going to be the next guy if we don’t want to play Ben there,” Hansen said.
“And we didn’t want to play Ben there, we want to play him on the wing.”
Liam Squire was included at blindside flanker in place of 34-year-old Jerome Kaino.