Kiwis’ Bledisloe snub is a reminder of some hard truths for the Wallabies
Not one three-Test series in that period even went to a decider. The only Tests with real jeopardy came in the Rugby World Cup years of 2007, 2015 and 2019, when the Wallabies won the first Test of a two-game series and had to travel to New Zealand the following week.
There is a feeling in New Zealand, therefore, that two Tests are currently enough, and even the merit (and novelty) of an Anzac Day Test in Perth next year isn’t enough to make a large structural change to the long-term calendar, particularly as there would be disruption to a Super Rugby Pacific competition.
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett holds the Bledisloe Cup aloft in Sydney last September.Credit: Getty Images
That position isn’t immutable, but clearly the Wallabies have to start winning again. In terms of rugby diplomacy and influence, the performance of the men’s national team is the ultimate blunt-force instrument of coercion.
Take the Springboks for example, as they prepare to host the All Blacks for an old-school three-Test tour next year with midweek fixtures against their United Rugby Championship sides.
Such an idea would have been laughable as recently as 2017 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks 57-0 at North Harbour. At that stage, the obituary writers were knocking on the door of South African rugby, but look at the South Africans now.
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Success has a way of opening doors and while it might be crude to distil this argument down to one point, beating the Kiwis in Super Rugby and beating the All Blacks in the current Bledisloe format would be a pretty good way of getting NZ Rugby back to the negotiating table.
I still like the Anzac Day Test concept, notwithstanding that there are some real challenges with having international rugby during the Super Rugby competition as a rule (take a look at the URC, for example, where Leinster are currently in South Africa with a B team because they are resting their Irish internationals after the Six Nations).
It could catch on, and it’s hard not to be sympathetic to Rugby Australia’s desire for big events in a ferociously competitive domestic market. But it would be far easier to sell to New Zealand if they truly took the Wallabies seriously again.
