Eden Park Nerves

Eden Park Nerves

There is an intense amount of interest in the return Bledisloe Cup rugby match in Auckland this weekend - and a certain degree of intrigue.

The interest centres on whether or not the below par performance, from practically the entire All Blacks squad last weekend, can be turned around. It was a shock to witness such inaccuracies from this side which prides itself in precision play and composed decision making. This week's build-up to the Eden Park match has been intense with no player needing to be reminded of his drop in standards in Sydney. The heat has been on the players to smarten up in all departments of the game.

This is not just an ordinary test match with the Wallabies. This is the last chance for the All Blacks to prove they are capable of successfully defending the World Cup because as of now they have a large percentage of their fans extremely worried.

After the loss in Sydney, I mentioned that the person facing the hardest challenge would be the mental skills coach, Gilbert Enoka. The most unexpected part of the loss for me was the fact the players could not finish the match off. In the last two years that's been a strength of this All Blacks team, whether they've been slightly ahead or trailing with fifteen minutes to go, they've backed themselves to win. Reverting to that frame of mind is essential for the remainder of this season and evidence of it is required in Auckland.

The intrigue is in the selections, particularly those of the Wallabies. Both selections panels have indicated that, while they're keen to win and gain some satisfaction and confidence in doing so, they are also still tinkering with their World Cup squads.

Three weeks ago the All Blacks selectors were pretty much settled on their squad but their selection for this test suggests there is still room for some movement.

In all other tests this year, a specialist lock has been included in the reserves. In previous seasons the position had been covered by the likes of Tuipulotu or Luatua. This weekend, if one of the starting locks receives an injury early in the game, Jerome Kaino will enter the fray. But the lineout was one of the positive features last week so hopefully it won't have a major impact. Victor Vito gets a chance to force his way into the World Cup squad (if he wasn't already there) while the inclusion of Milner-Skudder for a second test provides the selectors with a last chance to see him under pressure. The test following a debut is often the most difficult and the selectors can call on Piutau or Jane if they have any doubts about the Hurricanes' right wing.

Beauden Barrett's stocks might have slipped a bit and, while he is more versatile than Sopoaga, the latter's goal kicking might tip the scales in Sopoaga's favour, something that wouldn't have seemed likely when the squad was named.

First up though, the All Blacks don't need to gift the Wallabies any more confidence by slipping up at Eden Park. All their fans are anticipating a massive turnaround and a boost to their World Cup prospects.

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