Phil Gifford: Five talking points before All Blacks-Wallabies at Eden Park

There has been plenty of spite between the sides since the first test. Photo / photosport.nz

OPINION:

Phil Gifford presents five talking points heading into the All Blacks test against the Wallabies at Eden Park.

Heartaches by the number

Has there ever been more angst surrounding a Bledisloe Cup match?

If this was professional wrestling you'd write off some of the incendiary comments out of the Australian camp as being as fake as Donald Trump wrestling with Vince McMahon to promote a WWE event.

But it would appear Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is the only man in the world who can get a quick reply, and an apology, from World Rugby over something a French referee has done. (By comparison New Zealand Rugby is still waiting for a response to a complaint made in 2017 about Romain Poite's decision that probably cost the All Blacks the last test on the Lions tour.)

The great Wallabies centre of the 1990s, Tim Horan, appears to really believe that referee Mathieu Raynal was 15 metres away from Bernard Foley in Melbourne, which is why Foley didn't hear instructions to speed up his last-minute kick, despite video evidence the referee was often less than one step away from the dawdling Aussie.

You can add to the mix bizarre sniping by Rennie about Rieko Ioane teasing one of the poor sensitive Aussie forwards, Rennie's claim there should have been a card for Fletcher Newell in Melbourne, and the spluttering outrage from Aussie media over Ian Foster applauding Raynal for acting to speed up the game.

What you're left with is probably the lowest point in Bledisloe relationships since Wallabies prop Tony Daly called All Blacks Richard Loe a "slimy sort of player" after Loe elbowed Aussie wing Paul Carozza in the nose in Brisbane in 1992.

Does grumpiness help a team?

History would suggest it probably does. Stoking outrage has forever been the go-to tactic for rugby coaches. Before a game with the Waratahs in Sydney, former Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph threw down a local paper with a sneering story about the Landers. His team talk was just two words: "F*** them." He then stormed from the room, and his side went out and won.

Oddly, when you've got a squad that includes the perpetually offended Nic White, it may be that cool, rather than exploding, heads are handier for the Wallabies than rage and fury at Eden Park.

The biggest change

In the new-look All Blacks line-up the most noteworthy selection is Jordie Barrett at second-five. The youngest Barrett is a hugely gifted player, whose size and strength fit the mould for a test midfielder. The only reservation ever suggested at the top level is that his upright running stance might be a target for crash-tackling defenders. But if he and Ioane find a connection, it adds a helpful option for the All Blacks selectors.

The most puzzling is starting Codie Taylor rather than Samisoni Taukei'aho, who was sensational in Melbourne. You'd presume that scrum guru Jason Ryan has played a major part in deciding that Taukei'aho was ready for some rest, and that Taylor was bouncing back from a slump in form. Ryan's an astute judge, so, as much as many rate Taukei'aho, maybe judgment on that call can be reserved until the game's over.

It'd be a joke if it wasn't so disgraceful

Quinn Tupaea suffered a serious injury in the first test. Photo / photosport.nz

Wallaby Darcy Swain was banned early in the season for head-butting in a test with England. Eleven weeks later he smashes Quinn Tupaea's leg so badly in Melbourne the All Black is out for the rest of the year.

For the head-butt Swain got banned for two weeks. For an act that could have ended Tupaea's career, he gets suspended for six weeks, and will almost certainly be available for the Wallabies' end-of-year tour in Europe.

Every time the sickening incident is shown on television, in conjunction with the pathetic punishment, the promotion of rugby as a sport for young men and women takes another body blow.

Meanwhile, on the bright side of life

Whether you're going to be at Eden Park, or you'll be watching at home, treat yourself and catch all of the Black Ferns test with Japan, which starts at 4.30pm.

The great thing about the Ferns is that, as coach Wayne Smith has spelt out, they're working to play a free-running, daring style, not only as a brilliant show window for the women's game but also because trying to physically slug it out with the bigger European teams at the World Cup probably wouldn't work. Get there early and be hugely entertained.