All Blacks v Wallabies: James Slipper ready for chance of a lifetime to lift Bledisloe Cup

James Slipper wants to emulate the great Wallabies sides of the past. Photo / Getty

A fair few Wallabies running out tonight won't remember the last time their team lifted the Bledisloe Cup.

Captain James Slipper recalls it well, though. Those victories were what made him want to play rugby for Australia.

Wallabies teams for two decades have been unable to emulate the feats of those sides, but this year shapes as one of their best shots.

The All Blacks are vulnerable, the theory goes, having suffered four losses already this season. If Ireland and Argentina managed to make history against them, why not the Wallabies?

"I've heard that commentary a fair bit but history tells us that they're a pretty hard team to beat," Slipper said. "They've had the wood on us for 20 years so I think, as a playing group, we understand what's coming. It's going to be a hard task."

That task has proven too tough since 2002, when a 1-1 series split saw Australia retain the trophy they had held since winning it in 1998. That five-year stretch represented the halcyon days of Australian rugby – with John Eales having lifted the World Cup trophy in 1999 – and inspired a generation of youngsters to chase a similar dream.

"I grew up watching in the late 90s and early 2000s when it was a really successful era for us as a country in rugby," Slipper said. "They're some of my fondest memories and it's probably the main reason why I wanted to be a Wallaby.

"At the end of the day, we want to inspire rugby players around the country and we've got a job to do."

That job begins tonight at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne before shifting next weekend to Eden Park, the terminus of so many Australian hopes since they last won at the venue in 1986.

But Slipper thinks the fact that many in the squad have experienced little taste of the rivalry could be a positive, even if he's expecting those much-maligned rivals to be as good as ever.

"I think it works in our favour as well – these young players coming in haven't gone through the last 10 years of playing the All Blacks.

"They've had some great teams over the last decade – and this team is just as strong, I reckon. But our players are just excited to get out there. Most of them haven't played the All Blacks consistently and it sets up a good match."

Slipper was unsure why so many of those matches had gone wrong for the Wallabies in the past. But he knew that all the talk about this Australian team's golden chance would very soon count for nothing.

"You can look at it from both angles – we probably haven't been up to standard and the All Blacks have been above standard," he said. "We understand how big these games are for the rugby community. It's been 20 years; I've never won it.

"But it's one thing talking about winning it and another thing doing it. So I'm not really interested in going down the path of, 'We're going to go out there and win'. We've got to do it on the field instead of here in front of the media."