Rugby: All Blacks defending the most formidable fortress in rugby

Kieran Read and the All Blacks have a formidable record at Eden Park. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Between August 27, 1921 and July 3, 1994, Eden Park did not quite live up to its name. And for its first 21 years from the turn of the 20th century it was exclusively a cricket ground.

But now the venue for the first British and Irish Lions Test match against the All Blacks this Saturday is a special kind of paradise for the New Zealand rugby team. In the first 73 years of hosting rugby internationals it was a successful hunting ground for the Kiwis.

They won 74 per cent of games at the Auckland venue - looking at the major rugby-playing nations playing at their preferred home venue, that is an exceptional record.

South Africa at Ellis Park, Johannesburg? 48 Tests - 33 won, at a 69 per cent ratio.
England at Twickenham? 301 Tests - 197 won, at a 65 per cent win ratio.

France at Le Stade de France? 76 Tests - 48 won, at a 63 per cent win ratio.

Wales in Cardiff - whether it is the old Arms Park or the Millennium? 293 Tests - 170 won, at a 58 per cent win ratio.

Ireland at Lansdowne Road, or the Aviva Stadium as it has become known? 280 Tests - won 140, at a 50 per cent win ratio.

Those are records you might expect for the pre-eminent rugby teams of the last 120 years who have a fixed home. Periods of dominance, periods of decline, largely positive results.

But then you look at the All Blacks, playing at Eden Park since 1994, and the numbers are staggering.

Played 37. Won 37. Zero losses. None. Zilch. Two World Cups, in 1987 and 2011, have been lifted by New Zealand captains David Kirk and Richie McCaw there.

So that is no defeats in rugby's professional era, which started in 1995. Frankly, ridiculous.

And just for context Maro Itoje was not born, Bill Clinton was in the White House, Tony Blair had just become Labour leader and 'Love is All Around' by Wet Wet Wet was the No 1 record in the UK charts the last time New Zealand lost a rugby match in Auckland.

The record for the cricket team there is less impressive. A wicket is dropped into the hallowed turf for Test matches and the New Zealand Blackcaps have managed to damage the stadium's aura a little, losing 15 and winning just 10, with 24 draws there since 1930.

But the last rugby defeat was by France, 23-20, when Jean-Luc Sadourny and Emile Ntamack scored tries, Thierry Lacroix and Christophe Deylaud kicking the rest. Sean Fitzpatrick scored the Kiwis' only try and Matthew Cooper hit five of their penalties.

Since then it has been a blackwash. The All Blacks average four tries a game there in the last 23 years, scoring way more than double their opposition in Tests over that time - 1,319 points scored to just 510 conceded.

Eleven nations have tried to beat them there, the Lions too - in 2005 - and none have won. As home records go it is pretty much the best in sporting history.

So this is what the Lions are up against. The schedule has been particularly unkind to them throughout this tour - sponsors getting in the way of sport - but this takes on a whole new level when it comes to the Test series, the only thing that really matters.

Two of the three Tests are at Eden Park, the first and the third, with Wellington's Cake Tin (the Westpac Stadium) hosting the other one. With Christchurch not fit to host a Test after two earthquakes ruined Lancaster Park in 2010 and 2011, and Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium -that one that looks like a conservatory - too small, Auckland and Eden Park it is.

Close to 50,000 will pack into the stands. The dull grey seats filled with black and red-shirted supporters.

Earlier this week Ian Foster, assistant coach of the All Blacks, was asked about the stadium that the Kiwis do not lose at.

He said it was up to this era of New Zealanders to keep the stunning record going.
'We love playing there,' he said. 'It has always been a special ground for New Zealand rugby as a whole.

'It is not a record that means anything in itself. We have to play well on Saturday. If we are to add to the legacy of Eden Park we are going to have to play well.

'But there is something about playing in front of our home crowd, it is a big crowd. They are passionate and they love the All Blacks playing well.

'This will be special because a significant percentage (of the crowd) will be (wearing) red.'

If the Lions want to make a statement there is no better location. Three miles south of the biggest Kiwi city lies the All Blacks' fortress.

Storm it and the Lions will not only take the advantage in this series, they will become legends, penning a chapter in the annals of history.

Can Eden Park's rugby utopia be disturbed? Or will it be all black again?