The Wallabies’ confidence levels might have taken a hit, but veteran halfback Nic White says with the Bledisloe Cup still alive it’s an “advantage” to be back on home soil.
While the Wallabies were well-beaten 27-7 at Eden Park in Bledisloe II, few gave Dave Rennie’s side a chance to still be in contention to claim their first Bledisloe Cup in 18 years after consecutive Tests across the ditch to start the four-Test series.
But their 16-16 draw in Wellington in Bledisloe I has given the Wallabies the belief that they can match it with the All Blacks.
“I think naturally (our confidence has been rocked) a little bit, yeah,” White admitted, speaking from the team’s base in the Hunter Valley on Monday afternoon.
“We can speak about it in two games; four halves there, three of the halves we did really well but that fourth half, yeah. Naturally as human beings, you miss that many tackles and you blink an eye and you’re two tries behind, your confidence is going to take a hit.
“But I don’t think it’s taken a huge hit. We know that we can get back there, the first game we did it and I think in the first half (at Eden Park) we played some really good footy.
“There’s some areas that we can tweak, but for a lot of that we played pretty bloody well and left a lot of points out there. So, are we good enough? Yeah. Do we have confidence within ourselves and within the group that we can do it? One hundred per cent.”
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The painful lesson that Rennie’s Wallabies have discovered is one that Australian sides have felt ever since 2003: That if you take your eyes off the ball for a split second against the All Blacks, you’ll cop a beating.
It’s one that White, in particular, is acutely aware of, having won Tests against the All Blacks in 2015 and 2019 only to feel the wrath of their trans-Tasman rivals a week later across the ditch.
“We now know that if we’re not right there against a good All Blacks team, just that couple of per cent off in a couple areas, they can hurt you,” White said.
“The standards have to stay there. And there’s a fair few of us in that room that it was pretty hard viewing, looking back on a few of those moments (in Bledisloe II), but we’ve kept it alive coming back home and there’s some excitement around that.
“We’ve gone over there (and) we’ve come back with it all still to play for and we’re excited by it.”
Rarely, however, do the Wallabies ever salvage something across the ditch.
They came close in 2017, losing in heartbreaking circumstances in Dunedin as Beauden Barrett scored with seconds to go to steal victory at the death.
But their draw in Wellington was their best result against the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001.
And it’s given the Wallabies some confidence that the All Blacks are beatable, particularly now they’re back on home soil.
“I think it is, it’s a huge advantage for us,” said White, ahead of the remaining two Bledisloe fixtures in Australia.
“To have the Bledisloe still alive, knowing that we’ve got two games at home, in front of our fans (is massive). Whilst we were confident over there, it’s a different challenge over there in New Zealand, but to be home, it’s hard to describe it, but running out in front of your own fans, in front of your own family, it’s something else.
“You certainly grow a little bit and you talk about that confidence, I think it’s linked in with that a little bit. They’re coming here. I think we’ve got a little bit of an advantage, it was important that we made sure it’s still alive because we’ve got two games at home. Let’s go. Let’s go to ANZ, what a great place to play and there’s going to be a lot of Australians there and then do a number there and take it to Brisbane.”
Helping the Wallabies too is the boost they received last week.
For some, like Marika Koroibete, they saw their family for the first time in four months after the Rebels were forced to leave Melbourne in late June to continue playing in Super Rugby AU.
And putting on a show in front of their families is something that the Wallabies are hopeful they can deliver.
"Just to see Marika see his family and kids after so long, it’s going to be pretty big," White said.
"It’ll have a fair impact not just on those guys, but you can see, we’ve been doing a bit of this (culture and building stronger bonds) around the team, the impact it has on everyone. To see a guy who hasn’t seen their family in quite some time, the ability to see them and then play in front of them, it lifts the group."
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