Bledisloe Cup

A strangely inconsistent and vulnerable New Zealand are still under siege ahead of the midweek Rugby Championship clash.

For all their injuries, inconsistency and ill-discipline, the 2022 Wallabies have at least stayed true to the Australian attacking DNA, and tried to play positive, uptempo running rugby. He reckons exposure to Japan’s “worldly game” has made him a better player than the one who played the last of his 71 Tests at the 2019 World Cup. It was the first (and last) time the All Blacks ever played a club side and risked their famous mystique again. And while it’s unlikely Lolesio sent shivers up All Blacks spines, Foley is 33, hasn’t run on for the Wallabies since 2019 and hasn’t played at all since May, when he failed to get his Kubota Spears into third-place in the Division One finals series. The last time Australia called in a veteran five-eighth for his first Test in four years was the previous mid-week Test in 1994. But in the fourth round a fortnight ago, the All Blacks rebounded to blitz Argentina 53-3 while the Wallabies crashed to earth, smashed 24-8 by South Africa.

Thursday, September 15, at 7:30pm. Live on Channel 9HD, 9Gem and Stan Sport Streaming ad-free in 4K UHD on Stan Sport. The Wallabies get their chance to ...

Melbourne 7.30pm on Channel 9HD and Stan Sport Brisbane 7.30pm on Channel 9HD and Stan Sport Sydney 7.30pm on Channel 9HD and Stan Sport

Former Wallabies stars Chris Latham, Elton Flatley and Daniel Herbert have spoken to the player group in a bid to inspire them to Bledisloe Cup glory.

We don't want to be that team to lose it as well." “Historically they’ve had the wood on us for 20 years. They were able to play a game that was high skill, high tempo.

One of rugby's greatest rivalries, the Bledisloe Cup, returns this week as the All Blacks travel to Melbourne to face the Wallabies at Marvel Stadium.

All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe by winning by 10. The wing is incredibly powerful and physical with the pace to match and is an absolute nightmare to defend. Both teams have had shaky form this year, but the way the sides are trending certainly favours the All Blacks as they seem to have found a small period of stability. The 24-year-old will be itching to get over the line on Thursday. The star has everything, pace, power, footwork, vision and could well go on to be an All Blacks centurion. The 24-year-old was sublime during the Super Rugby Pacific but has not got an opportunity in black this season to the bemusement of many. While the 33-year-old has been operating only at club level for an extended period, his vast experience will be extremely important as Rennie will expect the pivot to take control of the game away from opposite number Richie Mo’unga and the All Blacks. Expect the centre to put in a blockbuster performance and be a try-threat on Thursday. For New Zealand, Crusader skipper Scott Barrett continues his back and forth between the second-row and blindside flank as he fills in for the injured Shannon Frizell, who performed brilliantly over the last couple of games. It will be interesting to see if Kellaway has the overall skillset to manage the game from the back. [Jordan](https://www.planetrugby.com/tag/will-jordan/) has already noted the difference newly-appointed attack coach Joe Schmidt has made on the squad as he looks to impact the game even without the ball in hand. The robust runner is looking to bring “brutality” to the first Bledisloe Test.

There was a time when Australia and New Zealand's battle for the Bledisloe Cup was almost a de facto world championship, but that's not the case now.

It's all against us but we're really looking forward to the challenge." France, Ireland, South Africa and Argentina have all taken turns to beat the three-times world champions in the past year. A lot of them are just learning their ways and it's great to be a part of. "I think they're fearless," Foley said. The Wallabies may not provide much of a yardstick in that regard but retaining the Bledisloe Cup on Thursday would provide a boost for an All Blacks team still searching for belief and back-to-back wins in 2022. There was a time when Australia and New Zealand's battle for the Bledisloe Cup was almost a de facto world championship but nearly two decades of All Blacks dominance has drained the trophy of much of its prestige.

A year out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the global game has never been more competitive with nine nations holding genuine ambitions of holding aloft the Webb ...

a coach is only as good as the players that he has. "It just comes with the space of being a coach in professional rugby, at an international level. So hopefully they can get back on that buzz." Now everything is up in the air." "Because his strength is he makes players around him better... Continues September 15 with the Bledisloe Cup opener. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by NEW PODCAST! The north have only won one of the nine World Cups to date (England, 2003) with the Springboks and All Blacks both boasting three and the Wallabies two. [the Wallabies lost at home to the Springboks for the first time in nine years.](https://wwos.nine.com.au/rugby/championship-2022-australia-south-africa-fiery-exchange-between-springboks-and-wallabies-at-allianz-stadium/6cf43067-fb5e-4173-8629-93950a3b74bd) I remember going back seven, eight years, you kind of knew you were going to beat that team or another team it was going to be a 50-50. As hard as it might be for some, Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams say it is time for rugby fans Down Under to accept and adjust to the new "mind blowing" world order.

Captain James Slipper said he expects the All Blacks to be just as challenging as ever despite their up and down season.

"It's probably the main reason why I wanted to be a Wallaby - I grew up watching the late 90s and early 2000s which was a really successful era for us and at the end of the day, we want to inspire rugby players around the country too." "But our players, they're just excited to get out there - most of them haven't played the All Blacks consistently and it sets up a really good match. "These young players coming in haven't gone through the last 10, 15 years of playing the All Blacks and they've had some great teams over the last decade," the 121-Test prop said.

The pigeon that runs the entire marketing department at Rugby Australia has been given the month off because this year's Bledisloe Cup fixture is in Melbourne ...

They go drinking, they eat in restaurants. People in Melbourne get out. You could sell tickets to the opening of a Bunnings and it’d sell out.

Nine's Wide World of Sports coverage of the Bledisloe Cup will feature Wallabies greats Tim Horan and Drew Mitchell, plus All Blacks legends Andrew Mehrtens and ...

Melbourne 7.30pm on Nine Brisbane 7.30pm on Nine Sydney 7.30pm on Nine

For all the woe surrounding New Zealand's unprecedented losses in 2022, it could take just one win over long-time foe Australia to start turning perceptions ...

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The Wallabies skipper has scoffed at suggestions the All Blacks are there for the taking after a year like no other in international rugby.

The Wallabies have conceded 14.5 penalties a game in The Rugby Championship. “Historically, they have had the wood on us for 20 years,” Slipper said. “It’s not ideal,” he said. “The start of the game [is important] and then just the basics,” Slipper said. I’d probably say the top six to eight teams are pretty close.” We got to make sure we do it on the field instead of here in front of the media. Two weeks ago, quiet questions were being asked about whether this was really the year the Wallabies could win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002. “We understand how big these games are,” Slipper said. We’ve got a job to do, we know that.” Rugby Australia was quick to announce on Wednesday the final Wallabies match on home soil this year, at Marvel Stadium, had sold out. Losing the deciding Test to England in July has compounded that. “It’s been 20 years and I’ve never won it,” Slipper said.

Belief, legacy and enjoyment. These are the three things former Wallabies Elton Flatley, Dan Herbert and Chris Latham spoke about when the trio addressed ...

during their golden era and said the “connection” with the past was important. Slipper, who is preparing for his 121st Test but first as captain against the All Blacks, told reporters ahead of his side’s captain’s run that he was “inspired” to play for the Wallabies after watching Flatley and co. “Probably belief that we were definitely good enough as a group to go out and execute, and we knew if we did that we’d have a good chance to win,” he said. “Obviously these guys have that opportunity on Thursday, and we encouraged them to really enjoy that opportunity and told them that all the Classic Wallabies are right behind the team.” “It wasn’t a big wordsmith kind of thing, but it was a couple of messages and it’s really about opportunity and, I suppose, leaving a legacy and things like that as a team.” “That was the other message was that those games go right to the end, so just rip in for the 80 minutes,” Flatley said.

“I think the Bledisloe has always been something our public is excited about. New Zealand-Australia Test matches are pretty special. “The fact we've held it for ...

“This weekend my role will be to speed up the game and offer some control depending on where we are in the match at that stage. The three recipients will be announced via press release and social media in the last week of September. The Test was a home game for them, and they had to win it to have a chance of winning the Bledisloe Cup and the Championship. Thursday night’s clash will be crucial to both team’s title hopes and have big ramifications on the Bledisloe Cup. The teams have squared off four times in Melbourne previously with the win ledger locked at 2-2. Captain Sam Cane will lead the side in a loose forward trio which has undergone forced changes with Shannon Frizell out injured and Ardie Savea remaining in New Zealand for the birth of his third child. 32-year-old Foley will combine with Waratahs skipper Jake Gordon at halfback to square off against the All Blacks duo of Aaron Smith and Richie Mo’unga. With just one point separating all four teams on the ladder the Rugby Championship is the tightest it has been in recent memory. Sotutu, who hasn’t started in the Championship, was released last weekend to play for Counties Manukau to get some game time. And, in some ways, the game doesn’t change from Argentina where you’re going to have to control that gain-line and that tackle point. Foster was confident recalled No8 Hoskins Sotutu was ready to step in Ardie Savea’s boots for the game. “The fact we’ve held it for a while is nice but kind of irrelevant right now.

Wallabies: Andrew Kellaway, Tom Wright, Len Ikitau, Lalakai Foketi, Marika Koribete, Bernard Foley, Jake Gordon, Rob Valetini, Pete Samu, Rob Leota, Matt Philip ...

Reserves: Dane Coles, George Bower, Fletcher Newell, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali’i, Finlay Christie, Beauden Barrett, Quinn Tupaea. [ They’d also go a long way to bagging the Rugby Championship, no doubt well and truly hushing Foster’s detractors.