Justin Marshall chats with Andrew Mehrtens on where the Wallabies are left after the record defeat they suffered on the weekend. Video / Sky Sport
OPINION:
It has reached the stage where half of New Zealand must be rooting for the Wallabies to land a punch in this Bledisloe Cup series.
The game in this part of the world desperately needs to see the All Blacks with a bloody nose, even if it is justfor the sake of variation.
Rivalries tend not to be considered rivalries when one team wins for 18 consecutive years and football codes don't tend to be taken seriously in Australia when there is endless soul searching caused by endless losing.
For one brief moment in time last month it looked like the Bledisloe Cup was going to be re-ignited to something close to its former self.
The Wallabies came to Wellington and they spread themselves across the field, seemingly aware of the All Blacks' every likely move. They were all fast hands and fancy feet in the capital with just enough nasty to go forward more than the All Blacks did.
If that last penalty by Reece Hodge had held its line for a split second longer, the Wallabies would have won and with victory may have come self-belief and conviction within this young Australian side that they can regularly beat the All Blacks.
But fate nudged that ball into the post and while that sparked a frenetic and brilliant extra nine minutes of rugby, it also seemingly killed the rising tide of optimism that was brewing within the Wallabies.
The All Blacks celebrate with the Bledisloe Cup after winning the 2020 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup match between the Australian Wallabies and the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images.
In their two subsequent tests they have regressed. Their defence has collapsed. Their lineout has disappeared. Their scrum has buckled and their imagination has been empty.
To a large extent their collapse has been inflicted by the resurgent All Blacks, but the Wallabies know they have been complicit in their own demise.
So here we are now with one test left in the series and one last chance for the Wallabies to drive a different narrative and rekindle that fleeting sense we all had a few weeks back that it was genuinely going to be game on this year.
The sense of excitement and possibilities post Wellington far outweighed any sense of satisfaction post Sydney when the All Blacks had inflicted a record defeat on the Wallabies.
The draw felt like it was opening a new door to the Bledisloe rivalry – one that everyone wanted to go through and experience a sense of uncertainty and suspense.
In Sydney, though, we were all ushered back into the same room: the one where the All Blacks turn up, say boo and the Wallabies jump out of their skin. Which may have been fitting given it was Halloween but it's a tired business seeing the Wallabies flounder and flap and for the fourth consecutive test in Sydney the match was all but over by half-time.
It wouldn't be quite true to say that the Wallabies are never going to have a better chance to win than this weekend, but everything is stacked in their favour.
There is the bigger picture which is that stakeholders – particularly potential broadcasters and sponsors - are crying out for fair dinkum heroes and a story that doesn't involve the Wallabies being held upside down and their lunch money shaken out of their pockets by the All Blacks.
Rieko Ioane of the All Blacks scores a try during the 2020 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup match between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images.
A broadcast deal is in the pipeline and who knows how these things work, but a few extra dollars could be chucked in if the Wallabies can bag a win this weekend.
Then there is the Brisbane factor. The All Blacks haven't had much joy there in recent times, losing in 2017, winning by a whisker in 2014, drawing in 2012 and losing in 2011.
To make matters harder the Covid-19 travel restrictions mean the All Blacks will fly to Brisbane from Sydney on the day of the game – an almost unique demand that assistant coach John Plumtree says will test the players.
They are creatures of habit and routine and such variations may be trifling in the real world, but they are enough to qualify as high drama in high performance circles.
The All Blacks have the series wrapped up and are coming into the game on the back of a great performance. The Wallabies need to make amends for their horror show in Sydney and win some kind of fan approval.
And maybe most significant of all is that Plumtree confirmed the All Blacks are going to make personnel changes, give those who delivered in Super Rugby a run in black – which may see Akira Ioane, Will Jordan and Asafo Aumua appear in the match day 23.
The Wallabies have the perfect storm at their backs and even New Zealanders are willing them to harness it and find the fight to give us all reason to believe they are still worth taking seriously
