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Harry Wilson spoke of the opportunity the Wallabies have this weekend against All black peoplewhile the men in gold look to bounce back from a 50-19 defeat in the Auckland and looking for an incredible victory over their biggest rival.
Wilson was a rookie in Test rugby when the Wallabies last tasted victory against the All Blacks, taking No.8 in a 24-22 thriller at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. James Slipper made 100 Test appearances and Michael Hooper captained the side on 7 November 2020.
The All Blacks have since gone unbeaten in their last dozen meetings, an all-time record in this fixture. They retained the Bledisloe Cup for 24th back-to-back years with a 31-point win at their Auckland stronghold, Eden Park, last weekend.
But the Wallabies are embracing the challenge ahead as they look to give Australian fans more to cheer for in a historic quadruple tie in Sydney. Wilson says he’s “in this group” to finish the job and end the losing streak.
“This is another opportunity for us. Obviously you get frustrated every Test match you lose,” Wilson told reporters in Sydney.
“As far as this group goes, we’ve found ways to beat some really tough nations.
“Obviously we didn’t have a run of green against the All Blacks, they’ve dominated us for the last couple of years, and I guess it’s up to this group to fix that.”
Wilson kicked one of Australia’s two first-half tries last weekend, with the visitors down by just three points at half-time. But the All Blacks ran away with a score in the second half, with Cam Roigard and Codie Taylor among the scorers.
Leroy Carter, Josh Moorby and Will Jordan also got on the scoresheet as the All Blacks brought up a half-century in the dying stages. It also saw the All Blacks extend their unbeaten run at the Garden to a remarkable 54 games, dating back to the 1990s.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss has made changes for the second Bledisloe Cup Test, with backrower Josh Canham returning from injury off the bench. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is back in the centers, while Len Ikitau is unavailable due to injury.
Isaac Henry will line up at inside centre, with Wallabies rookie Declan Meredith coming into the run-on side at fly-half. Ben Donaldson is out with injury, so Kiss have opted for potential debutant Harry McLaughlin-Phillips on the bench.
“Losing to the All Blacks always hurts,” Wilson said.
“We have the opportunity to come out here in front of our home crowd and really put on a strong performance.
“It’s been a big week for us to think as a team and see where we can improve and now we have to go out there and do it.”
