Long time between drinks

Andrew Slack savours Bledisloe Cup triumph after the Wallabies' comprehensive win at Eden Park.

If the Wallabies play as they did against South Africa in Sydney, the All Blacks could outdo the New Zealand scoring record Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones put together against Sri Lanka 15 years ago.

True, reaching 468 in a rugby test would appear unlikely, but no more unlikely than a match between two of the world's leading rugby nations plummeting to the depths that were reached a fortnight ago. It dug so far I could see China.

In terms of a spectacle, I found the whole Wallaby-Springbok contest fascinating as I sat there entranced by just how appallingly talented rugby players could perform.

It beat all those boring matches where mediocrity takes the excitement out of things.

This was so far removed from mediocrity it created its own uniqueness (let us all hope though, that unique is what it proves to be - the fascination is unlikely to extend beyond one sitting).

Of course, sport only maintains interest because we don't know what will unfold.

Last season's displays will often bear no resemblance to this season's and, as often as not, last week's form gives you few clues as to what to expect this week.

While consistency provides coaches with a far easier sheet from which to work, predictability can occasionally prove tedious for the objective observer.

Mind you, All Black and Wallaby supporters could both be considered slightly subjective when it comes to Bledisloe Cup clashes and whichever side one supports, strong lead-in performances are preferable to the alternative.

To that end, Richie McCaw's mob appear to currently have the whip hand.

Other things, too, have Australians feeling a sense of unease.

The Wallabies have not won in Auckland for 20 years. I always thought Carisbrook was our 'House of Pain' - seemingly Eden Park is doing its best to earn a similar sobriquet from those on the western side of the Ditch.

George Gregan might be copping it from all quarters of late, but between those ears of his resides a pretty sharp brain and he's been around enough to know that, regardless of what tales yesterday may tell, tomorrow can reveal completely different ones.

I'm unaware how strong his knowledge of Bledisloe Cup history is but if he looks back to that 1986 series he will see that in the two tests preceding the Australian victory at Eden Park, the Wallabies won the first at Athletic Park 13-12 and the All Blacks took out the second in Dunedin 13-12.

The logic of some critics would then suggest the third must have been a draw.

Gregan would understand better than most that sport would be dull if logic had too much of a say.

Australia won the decider 22-9 and Gregan and his troops know that results of 20 years ago and indeed, 14 days ago, matter not once the whistle blows tomorrow.

As the Wallaby coin-tosser in the 1986 series I vividly recall being asked by an interviewer, immediately after I disconsolately trudged off Carisbrook following that second-test defeat, if I saw any relevance in the fact each of the first two matches had finished 13-12.

I generally tried to play the part when journalists asked me Yes/No questions and not leave them hanging.

This time he was welcome to the noose. "No" was my response and no I meant. In current parlance I might have muttered, "As if!"

The Wallabies deserve to be lambasted on nearly all counts for their display against the Springboks. (the fact they somehow managed to conjure a victory might say more about the opposition than the Wallabies but for those Australians seeking solace, winning was a much-appreciated consolation prize).

Will the three changes made to the starting XV make that big a difference against the All Blacks?

Jeremy Paul provides extra experience at hooker, Phil Waugh has been chosen to go one on one with the New Zealand captain and not have to worry about the multiplicity of roles that can sometimes neutralise someone of George Smith's vast talents, while Clyde Rathbone is there to try to add some speed to a backline that is long on natural ability but fractionally short of natural gas.

These are the tinkerings that selectors are there to make, but it won't necessarily be personnel changes that ensure an improved Wallaby performance.

All things being equal, the Wallabies aren't quite the measure of the All Blacks at this stage, but they are infinitely better than they showed in their last outing.

Australia can win tomorrow but with a gun at your head and forced to make a call, you would not put your last on it. What I would predict is that whoever wins, it will be no cricket score.

Should the Wallabies, as expected, be beaten tomorrow, John Connolly might take comfort from the knowledge that the losers at Eden Park back in 1986 held the William Webb Ellis Cup aloft the following year.

* Andrew Slack played 39 tests for the Wallabies


For the record

September 6, 1986
The last time the Wallabies won at Eden Park

Third test

Australia 22
(A. Leeds, D. Campese tries; M. Lynagh con, 4 pen)

All Blacks 9
(K. Crowley 3 pen)