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'The Aussies spanked us': All Blacks cautious of potential bogey ground

Anton Lienert-Brown. (Photo by Daniel Carson/Photosport)

While the All Blacks travel better than most international sides and win in Australia more often than they don’t, there are a few grounds where New Zealand struggle. One such ground could be Optus Stadium in Perth, where the third and final Bledisloe Cup match of the year will take place this Sunday.

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The first and only time the All Blacks and Wallabies met in Perth, back in 2019, the home side thumped the visitors 47-26, recording their highest ever points tally in the process.

In the 15 matches the Wallabies have played in Perth, they’ve tasted defeat on just two occasions – both times at the hands of the Springboks.

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Should the Wallabies start Quade Cooper in the No 10 jersey this weekend?

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While there’s only one game to go off so far, the All Blacks will be hopeful they can avenge the struggles from two years prior and that Optus doesn’t develop into a bogey ground moving forward.

Midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, who was recently elevated into the side’s leadership group, has suggested that the big defeat in 2019 will add some extra motivation to put a big performance on the park come Sunday afternoon.

“This game’s a big one for us, last time we were here the Aussies spanked us, so that memory is still firmly in the minds of the players who played that game,” he said on SEN’s Sportsday WA radio show.

“Then for us, it’s a massive mental game because we’ve got the Bledisloe Cup and there’s a lot more we want to achieve. There’s a bit of respect to be put back in that [All Blacks] jersey.

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“There’s obviously a heck of a legacy that has gone on before us so it’s a big one for us and it’s going to be a packed stadium and no doubt the Wallabies are going to be very hungry.”

Historically, the All Blacks have struggled to score a clean-sweep over the Wallabies, only achieving the feat three times in the last decade. More often than not, it’s the final game of the series – once the trophy is wrapped up and the Rugby Championship has already come to an end – that NZ let their foot off the gas.

While the Bledisloe Cup is indeed secure for another year, the Rugby Championship is only just getting started and a loss in Perth could spell bad news for the All Blacks, who are likely going toe to toe with the Springboks for the title.

As such, the All Blacks can’t afford to give their opposition an opening – and especially won’t want to set a precedent for the future where Optus Stadium emerges as their bogey stadium.

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Both the All Blacks and Wallabies will unveil their line-ups for Sunday’s match later today.

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Tom 4 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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