Eden Park sold out for ABs & Black Ferns on Saturday
- by Israel Caldwell
- in Sports
- — Aug 20, 2018
Cheika refused to accept the visit to Auckland was daunting, despite his side's awful record at Eden Park against the All Blacks and the fact they are one-nil down in a three-test series.
After losing by 35 points in 2016 and 20 points a year ago to the Kiwis at ANZ Stadium, Cheika's side was soundly beaten again in the Sydney Bledisloe opener 38-13, with a woeful lineout and poor attack gifting New Zealand the ball they needed to carve up.
"We'd be silly to think they haven't got another player who's going to step in and wear the jersey with pride and urgency".
"We've got to stay at it".
"I see that, I do".
"The scrums were dropping to the ground, it could have been anyone, I'm not sure why the calls went against us there".
A length of the field try by center Jack Goodhue and a late double from Waisake Naholo spurred New Zealand to a 38-13 win against Australia in the first Bledisloe Cup test, and opening match of the Rugby Championship, on Saturday.
"I thought we were a little bit slow in getting set up and going", Cheika said of the lineout laments.
The rest was the same old story that has been told since 2003, when New Zealand took the trophy and haven't given it back since.
"Teams that get beaten are hungrier than teams that have won, our big challenge this week is to prepare better than them and be hungrier than them", Hansen said.
"He was just unlucky last night". From our understanding as long as you fully recover and don't go back when you're not fully recovered, then you're OK.
The All Blacks have an extraordinary ability to score around the halftime mark and it showed again when Goodhue opened the second period with a superb try.
Australia's hopes of claiming the Bledisloe for the first time since 2002 now rest on winning the second Test of the three-match series next week at Eden Park, where they have not tasted victory since 1986.
New Zealand's Ben Smith attacks as Australia's Michael Hooper flies high while giving chase.
"I believe in my lads a lot, I really do, we don't need to lose to then have to go and try to have to win", Cheika said.
"There's no more room for manoeuvre". "They have to trust the process they've built at training together".
It looked like the Wallabies might improbably keep the All Blacks scoreless for the first half when Barrett missed a straight on penalty in the 38th minute. "The pleasing thing is that if we all do our own individual role we will improve drastically in that area".
