Statistic of the Day

[Puja]

I'd actually call England's highly unfavourable. We've got Tonga first when they'll be at their strongest and wanting to prove a (physical) point or two. USA next should be our easiest, but they're an improving team wih a canny coach , and it's their first game compared to our 4-day, travel-across-the-entire-country, turnaround from Tonga. Then we've got Argentina who will have all their overseas players back, followed by France who look to be getting their shit together. From there, it's straight on into the quarters, so a run to the final would see us playing 5 consecutive big matches without an opportunity to rotate.

I'd say Australia's got the easiest ride but, as you said, could be underdone. New Zealand's isn't bad - as long as you deal with SA first game, you've got bog all else to bother you in that pool except for a possible game against Germany.

Puja

[Lizard]

Nup. Tonga are not great and USA are worse.

[Puja]

Tonga are the best of the PIs at the moment and the US are improvig to the extent that they beat Scotland (a shadow side, but still). While I'd like to expect two bonus point victories, both teams will be looking to knock us about and will provide a sterner challenge than we'd like. I'd much rather have your pool.

Puja

[rowan]

Fiji are the best of the PIs, both historically and presently. They should rightfully be a tier 1 nation with direct representation on the World Rugby core committee. & they should be playing in the Rugby Championship.

[Lizard]

This is the last Wallabies team to win a Bledisloe series, retaining the Cup, one -all, in 2002. Both tests used the same starting XV and bench:

B. Young
J. A. Paul
P. Noriega
J. B. G. Harrison
N. C. Sharpe
O. D. A. Finegan
G. B. Smith
T. S. Kefu
G. M. Gregan (C)
S. J. Larkham
S. A. Mortlock
D. J. Herbert
M. C. Burke
B. N. Tune
C. E. Latham

RESERVES
B. J. Cannon*
B. J. Darwin
M. J. Cockbain
D. Lyons
C. J. Whitaker*
E. J. Flatley
M. Rogers

*Not used in either test

Since 2002, 130 Wallabies have taken the field seeking the Bledisloe Cup. Those who have never succeeded include Adam Ashley-Cooper, Simon Moore, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, David Pocock and Kurtley Beale.

Nathan Sharpe was the last active Wallaby to have experienced holding the Bledisloe Cup. The 2002 series were his 3rd and 5th caps in his debut season. He retired at the end of 2010.

[rowan]

Not surprising. It's a private schools' game in Aussie, largely confined to Sydney and Brisbane, where it remains very much in the shadow of league. The Aussies punch above their weight at World Cups.

[Lizard]

And here's their opposition - last All Blacks to not win a Bledisloe series:

Bracketed players indicate a selection change between the two tests.

D. N. Hewett
M. G. Hammett/T. E. Willis
G. M. Somerville
C. R. Jack
T. S. Maling
R. D. Thorne (C)
R. H. McCaw
S. M. Robertson
J. W. Marshall
A. P. Mehrtens
C. S. Ralph
A. J. D. Mauger
M. P. Robinson/J. F. Umaga
D. C. Howlett
C. M. Cullen

RESERVES
T. E. Willis/A. K. Hore
J. M. McDonnell
R. K. Willis/M.R. Holah
S. R. Broomhall
B. T. Kelleher
D. P. E. Gibson
B. A. Blair/L. R. MacDonald

NONE of the reserves were used in the first test (imagine that today!) and only McDonnell, Gibson and MacDonald finished the second test (with 11 minutes between them!). Holah came on for 8 minutes in the first half so notorious shirker McCaw could have a little rest. If you were going to make changes, why would you do it when you're 14-13 up with 2 minutes to go? It was Leon McDonald, fresh onto the field, who gave away the injury time penalty that let the Wallabies keep the cup.

[rowan]

Did you know there is no living Welshman who has tasted victory over the All Blacks with Wales? Last survivor of the 1953 test died 2 years ago aged 85. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... f-12314095

There is, however, a Kiwi survivor of that match - Bill McCaw, who is now 90. No relation to Richie, so far as I can tell, though the late father of another All Blacks captain was in the side, BBJ Fitzpatrick. I briefly met 3 members of that team in Wellington during my youth - including the captain Bob Stuart - the others being Ian Clarke and Bob Scott.

[cashead]

T. E. Willis

S. R. Broomhall

2002 had some weird-ass selections in hindsight. You get these guys like Tom Willis or Sam Broomhall, who were suddenly All Blacks, starting a bunch of tests in the case of Willis, only to disappear from the international scene just as quickly. We also saw Sam Harding play earlier that year, and them fade away just as quickly.

[Doorzetbornandbred]

T. E. Willis

S. R. Broomhall

2002 had some weird-ass selections in hindsight. You get these guys like Tom Willis or Sam Broomhall, who were suddenly All Blacks, starting a bunch of tests in the case of Willis, only to disappear from the international scene just as quickly. We also saw Sam Harding play earlier that year, and them fade away just as quickly.

Willis looked the real deal at one point then suffered with a back injury didnt he? Broomhall was a good player but not really AB's material imo.

[rowan]

I actually had no idea who Ian Clarke was when I met him and only found out after the fact. It was on the eve of the All Blacks v Wales QF at the inaugural World Cup and he tried to tell me the All Blacks were going to put 50 points on Wales. Naturally I had a good laugh about that, before dismissing him as some wacko who knew nothing about rugby and walking away. It was about 10 minutes later that my mate came over and told me I'd just been talking to the former All Blacks captain and brother of the great DB. Anyway, next day the All Blacks beat Wales 49-6. So he was wrong...

[rowan]

Bob Scott I also failed to recognize, come to think of it. That was a little later, in my days as a junior reporter, and I went out to interview Wellington coach Andy Leslie at his menswear store in Petone. There was some pesky old guy with an enormous pink head bobbing around behind the counter, who kept interrupting us during the interview. You guessed it: Former All Blacks fullback Bob Scott who used to kick goals from inside his own half - barefoot! If I'd known it at the time I could've brought up the 49 tour. That would've shut him up.

[rowan]

I would have missed Bob Stuart too had Ivan Vodanovich not pointed him out to me and introduced us. Ivan took me under his wing for some reason and used to invite me down to NZRFU HQ in the old Huddart Paker bldg just to hang out. I even met the Aussie dignitaries when the Wallabies were in town one year and received a big sweaty handshake from Bob Templeton!

[cashead]

Shut

[cashead]

The

[cashead]

Fuck

[cashead]

Up,

[cashead]

rowan

[cashead]

T. E. Willis

S. R. Broomhall

2002 had some weird-ass selections in hindsight. You get these guys like Tom Willis or Sam Broomhall, who were suddenly All Blacks, starting a bunch of tests in the case of Willis, only to disappear from the international scene just as quickly. We also saw Sam Harding play earlier that year, and them fade away just as quickly.

Willis looked the real deal at one point then suffered with a back injury didnt he? Broomhall was a good player but not really AB's material imo.

Yep, more or less. Willis' injury coincided with the rapid rise of Keven Mealamu and the elevation of Corey Flynn. By the time he was back in the swing of things in 2006, he ended up getting lost in the shuffle with Keven Mealamu, Anton Oliver, Corey Flynn, Derren Witcombe and Andrew Hore knocking about. With Andrew Hore already being known to the coaches, he ended up getting the 3rd hooker spot when Witcombe suffered what would be pretty much a career-ending injury in 2006, so there was definitely an element of bad luck to his short test career.

As for Broomhall, he was another decent player lost in the shuffle at the Crusaders, who were juggling Thorne, McCaw and Robertson along with him. Honestly, he probably would've had a longer All Black career if he'd left the Crusaders and got regular gametime at 8 elsewhere, like with the Chiefs or the Highlanders in the mid-2000s, like Luke Whitelock has ended up doing.

[Lizard]

The Wallabies at Eden Park
The Wallabies have played 29 tests at Eden Park, beginning in 1931. Before then, they had played only 4 tests in NZ at Carisbrook (1905, 1913), Athletic Park (1913) and Lancaster Park (1913), winning only the latter.

27 of the Wallabies' Eden Park tests were against the All Blacks for 23 losses and 4 wins (1949, 1955, 1978 &1986). The other two were during RWC2011 losing in Pool C to Ireland and winning bronze v Wales.

Honours at the ground were initially relatively even. The All Blacks won the first two in 1931 and 1946, followed by two wins for Aussie in 1949 (effectively against an NZ 2nd XV as the "real" All Blacks were busy losing a test series 4-0 in South Africa) and 1955. NZ then won 2 more (1962, 1972) before losing in 1978, making the over all score 4 win to 3 for NZ. NZ then won in '82 & '85 before the 1986 hiccup. Since then they've made it 17 on the trot (1989-91, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005-09, twice in 2011, 2012, 2014-16).

[rowan]

The first World Cup had yet to be played, professionalism and Super Rugby were still a decade away, and most of the current All Blacks squad hadn't been born the last time the Wallabies beat New Zealand at Eden Park, 11,675 days ago. It was September 6, 1986, and Australia won 22-9, and they haven't beaten the All Blacks at the venue since. In fact, no team has beaten the All Blacks in Auckland since France's 23-20 victory on July 3, 1994. Believe it or not, however, New Zealand has a superior all-time winning record at Carisbrook, Dunedin, Wellington's Westpac Stadium, and even Landsdowne Road and Murrayfield, than it does at Eden Park with 84%.

[Lizard]

The All Blacks have a 100% winning record at 43 different test venues worldwide, 8 in New Zealand* and 3 in Auckland.

*7 if you count Waikato Stadium as the same as the old Rugby Park.

[rowan]

Teams from the Wallabies' last win at Eden Park

Team
15 FB
Kieran Crowley
14 W
John Kirwan
13 C
Joe Stanley
12 C
Arthur Stone
11 W
Craig Green
10 FH
Frano Botica
9 SH
David Kirk (c)
1 P
Steve McDowall
2 H
Hika Reid
3 P
Gary Knight
4 L
Gary Whetton
5 L
Murray Pierce
6 F
Mark Shaw
7 F
Jock Hobbs
8 N8
Mike Brewer
Replacements
16 FH
Marty Berry

15 FB
Andrew Leeds
14 W
David Campese
13 C
Andrew Slack (c)
12 C
Brett Papworth
11 W
Matthew Burke
10 FH
Michael Lynagh
9 SH
Nick Farr-Jones
1 P
Topo Rodriguez
2 H
Tom Lawton
3 P
Mark Hartill
4 L
Steve Cutler
5 L
Bill Campbell
6 F
Jeff Miller
7 F
Simon Poidevin
8 N8
Steve Tuynman

[rowan]

Gary Knight surely the oldest player there, he'd be well into retirement age by now, presuming he's still with us. He was on the 78 grand slam tour, with the likes of Frank Oliver, BG and Bruce Robertson, having debuted a year before that, and was one of the front row trio dubbed the 'geriatrics' as far back as 85! & he won a C/W Games medal way back in 74 - in wrestling.

NB: Wiki states he is still alive and kicking, and will be turning 67 on Sunday

[Lizard]

Players who have 100+ more test caps than points:
Gethin Jenkins: 134 caps, 20 points
Jason Leonard: 119 caps, 5 points
Owen Franks: 100 caps, 0 points