Australia will be looking to atone for last week’s big defeat when they take on the All Blacks in the final 2020 Bledisloe Cup fixture on Saturday the 7th of November.
Image copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The Wallabies will be looking to salvage some pride from what has been a rather disappointing Bledisloe Cup campaign when they take on the old enemy in Queensland this Saturday.
Australia v New Zealand
Saturday 7 November
Suncorp Stadium
To Win (80 Mins)
Australia 57/10
Draw 28/1
New Zealand 1/10
Handicap
Australia
New Zealand
Australia
The annual battle for trans-Tasman superiority started so well with Dave Rennie’s first game at the helm of the Wallabies ship seeing a 16-16 draw in Wellington.
Things got a lot worse after that, however, as the Wallabies were hammered 27-7 in Auckland in Bledisloe 2 and then went down 43-5 in Bledisloe three, which was staged out in Sydney.
The Australians were their worst enemies in the last two test as they were poor defensively in Bledisloe 2 and then sloppy and ill-disciplined in Bledisloe 3.
There are a few positives the wallabies can take from last weekend, however. The biggest plus was Noah Lolesio making his debut. While the Brumbies ten had a tough time of it, he did manage to score on debut. Like Harry Wilson, who shone in Bledisloe 1 and 2, Lolesio is likely to be a key man for the Wallabies in the coming years.
New Zealand
The All Blacks secured yet another Blesidloe Cup victory as they registered a thumping 38 point victory last weekend. This was the most polished performance the All Blacks have delivered since they beat South Africa during the pool phase of last year’s Rugby World Cup.
What will have pleased Ian Foster the most about his side’s performance last weekend was how Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett clicked. The former was an absolute points machine this past Saturday wracking up a personal tally of 23 points while Barrett was also extremely influential.
With the Bledisloe Cup now safely in the trophy cabinet for another year, we’re likely to see a number of changes to the All Blacks line up. The one that really interests me – should it occur – is the prospect of fielding Hurricanes midfield pairing Ngani Laumape and Peter Umanga-Jensen who could cause a young Australian pairing big problems.
The duo could well be joined by fellow Hurricanes Asafo Aumua and Du Plessis Kiriffi who should at least be given spots on the bench.
Verdict: Australia 57/10
I think we’ll see the Wallabies bounce back against a weakened All Blacks outfit. While I can’t see them winning the game, I can see them staying within a handicap in the mid-teens.
