Bledisloe Series 2020
Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 9:54 pm
Bledisloe Cup! 2020 Fuck You It's Hellworld Edition!
October 11, 4:00PM
Sky Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand 16 - 16 Australia
October 18, 4:00PM
Eden Park, Auckland
What is a Bleh-diss-low?
It is a trophy contested between New Zealand and Australia since 1932, after being instituted in 1931.
Who's got it now?
New Zealand
Who's won it how many times?
New Zealand have 47 series wins
Australia have 12 series wins
Oof. How does one win this Bledisloe Cup?
Easy. You win a test series, or a one-off test. If you're the holder, you've got the champion's advantage, in that it doesn't change hands in a drawn series.
Oh, ok. How long has each side's lengthiest tenure been?
Australia's longest reign as Bledisloe holders was 5 years - they won it in 1998, and retained it in 99, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
New Zealand's longest was 28 years. At one point, they put it down somewhere and forgot where it was. Please do keep in mind that they defended it 12 times during this tenure, because test matches between the teams wasn't exactly regular prior to professionalism.
Holy jeez. Who has it now, and how long have they had it for, then?
It's currently locked away in a cabinet in Wellington. The All Blacks won it back by beating the Wallabies 2-0 in 2003, and have held it since. So that's 16 years and counting.
Oh wow. So what's the recent history between the two sides?
Up until the mid-2000s, the Wallabies were a team that seemed to be able to beat the All Blacks once in a while, but from around 2008, they can only really pull it off when the stars align in a certain way. Hell, they haven't beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2000, when John Eales knocked over that penalty to secure the Bledisloe in Wellington.
In the last 2 World Cup cycles alone (2012~2019), it's been almost entirely 1-way traffic, and in 8 years, they've only managed 3 wins, 1 in 2015, 1 in 2017 and 1 in 2019. Other than that, there were also 2 draws which were treated like defeats in 2012 and 2014.
The last 5 tests between the two teams have gone:
38-13 to the All Blacks (in Sydney, 2018)
40-12 to the All Blacks (in Auckland, 2018)
37-20 to the All Blacks (in Yokohama, 2018)
47-26 to the Wallabies (in Perth, 2019)
36-0 to the All Blacks (in Auckland, 2018)
Are Australia that bad?
Yes and no. Yes, as in at their worst, they have been absolutely dire and ripped to shreds by the All Blacks. But at least once a year, they still manage to keep things close. Among those defeats that have been piled on are the odd game where they were still well within it, and the All Blacks had to dig quite deep.
The Wallabies are also a bit of an unknown quantity. They have a highly regarded coach - probably the best they've had since Robbie Deans - in Dave Rennie, who has made some major changes in the squad, and there seems to be a real sense of renewal. Some decisions on that front were forced on him, but others were probably a long time coming.
The standard of rugby on display in Super Rugby: Australia wasn't actually that bad, and we're also seeing teams like the Reds and the Brumbies resurgent, and some serious talent at the age grade level are now finally being given clearer pathways into top level rugby, like Harry Wilson, Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio. It's hard not to notice just how many players in the Wallabies squad are still in the first half of their 20s, with some experienced campaigners returning or sticking around for a bit longer like Matt Toomua or Rob Simmons.
October 11, 4:00PM
Sky Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand 16 - 16 Australia
October 18, 4:00PM
Eden Park, Auckland
What is a Bleh-diss-low?
It is a trophy contested between New Zealand and Australia since 1932, after being instituted in 1931.
Who's got it now?
New Zealand
Who's won it how many times?
New Zealand have 47 series wins
Australia have 12 series wins
Oof. How does one win this Bledisloe Cup?
Easy. You win a test series, or a one-off test. If you're the holder, you've got the champion's advantage, in that it doesn't change hands in a drawn series.
Oh, ok. How long has each side's lengthiest tenure been?
Australia's longest reign as Bledisloe holders was 5 years - they won it in 1998, and retained it in 99, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
New Zealand's longest was 28 years. At one point, they put it down somewhere and forgot where it was. Please do keep in mind that they defended it 12 times during this tenure, because test matches between the teams wasn't exactly regular prior to professionalism.
Holy jeez. Who has it now, and how long have they had it for, then?
It's currently locked away in a cabinet in Wellington. The All Blacks won it back by beating the Wallabies 2-0 in 2003, and have held it since. So that's 16 years and counting.
Oh wow. So what's the recent history between the two sides?
Up until the mid-2000s, the Wallabies were a team that seemed to be able to beat the All Blacks once in a while, but from around 2008, they can only really pull it off when the stars align in a certain way. Hell, they haven't beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2000, when John Eales knocked over that penalty to secure the Bledisloe in Wellington.
In the last 2 World Cup cycles alone (2012~2019), it's been almost entirely 1-way traffic, and in 8 years, they've only managed 3 wins, 1 in 2015, 1 in 2017 and 1 in 2019. Other than that, there were also 2 draws which were treated like defeats in 2012 and 2014.
The last 5 tests between the two teams have gone:
38-13 to the All Blacks (in Sydney, 2018)
40-12 to the All Blacks (in Auckland, 2018)
37-20 to the All Blacks (in Yokohama, 2018)
47-26 to the Wallabies (in Perth, 2019)
36-0 to the All Blacks (in Auckland, 2018)
Are Australia that bad?
Yes and no. Yes, as in at their worst, they have been absolutely dire and ripped to shreds by the All Blacks. But at least once a year, they still manage to keep things close. Among those defeats that have been piled on are the odd game where they were still well within it, and the All Blacks had to dig quite deep.
The Wallabies are also a bit of an unknown quantity. They have a highly regarded coach - probably the best they've had since Robbie Deans - in Dave Rennie, who has made some major changes in the squad, and there seems to be a real sense of renewal. Some decisions on that front were forced on him, but others were probably a long time coming.
The standard of rugby on display in Super Rugby: Australia wasn't actually that bad, and we're also seeing teams like the Reds and the Brumbies resurgent, and some serious talent at the age grade level are now finally being given clearer pathways into top level rugby, like Harry Wilson, Will Harrison and Noah Lolesio. It's hard not to notice just how many players in the Wallabies squad are still in the first half of their 20s, with some experienced campaigners returning or sticking around for a bit longer like Matt Toomua or Rob Simmons.