Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt is all too aware of the unique challenge Eden Park is in world of international rugby, having been part of the coaching team that defended the famous fortress.
This week, he’ll be looking to breach it as the Wallabies aim look to snap forty years of misery at the venue, and is expecting a “pressure cooker” environment when the whistle blows.
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However, he will not be alone, with several experienced heads well-versed in the challenges around the venue.
Among the Wallabies coaching staff is ‘Scrum Doctor’ Mike Cron and Tom Donnelly, who both have spent time playing or coaching the All Blacks, and Schmidt knows his side needs to hit the ground running if they are to halt the black wave.
With the All Blacks coming off a 43-10 thrashing at the hands of the Springboks and Scott Robertson under pressure from the New Zealand press, Schmidt believes the home side will be even more dangerous.
“I think they're on the cusp of breaking things open,” Schmidt said to reporters of his homeland’s side.
“I know a lot of people will focus on the end result last time they played, but 60 minutes in, I was sitting there with Mike and Tom Donnelly, two guys who spent time playing or coaching the All Blacks, and we're all thinking the game's in the balance.
“So unfortunately what can happen is when the game gets away from you a little bit, you maybe try a little bit too hard, or you take a risk that you wouldn't otherwise do, or you start to play outside the box and start to get a little bit individual.
“South Africa did it to us, they just did it at the other end of the game. We couldn't believe those first 18 minutes in Ellis Park.”
The Wallabies coach is very familiar with a lot of Robertson’s team, and with the likes of several familiar faces returning, he knows the men in gold need to be smart, tactical and cunning.
“Having coached the likes of Caleb Clarke, he's freakish in the air, particularly above his head,” Schmidt singled out the Blues winger.
“You've got to get very high to get over him but I'd be a big fan of Caleb, so it's great to see him back in the Test arena. I'm sure a lot of All Black supporters will be keen to see him back in there.
“We've got to be aware of what the All Blacks bring, without a doubt. Again, having coached a number of them, I know how dangerous they can be, that's for sure.
“[In Auckland] they all just get a little bit more focused, a little bit more connected, and a little bit more combative.
“I've no doubt that that's exactly what we're going to get on Saturday, that they will be highly connected and combative, and that they will have a real collective energy that to suppress is going to be a real challenge.
“You can't afford to miss marks and turn the ball over and give the All Blacks oxygen, because they will damage you if that happens.”
Schmidt didn’t hide the fact he wants the Wallabies to cut out the slow starts, and knows that against the All Blacks his side cannot afford to make the same mistakes.
However, speaking to the Kiwi media, Schmidt also clarified how hungry the Australian rugby public has grown since the Lions’ series, which would be sent into overdrive if the men in gold can reclaim the Bledisloe Cup.
“We're trying to galvanise our own confidence and trying to play our own game,” Schmidt explained.
“For the players to really enjoy their work, that's a really important part of it. When you are enjoying working hard for each other and trying to create opportunities, I think if that's your major focus, then you can really enjoy your work.
“I think if you just about gave them [Aussie rugby fans] a choice to take the Bledisloe over the Rugby Championship, it is very much just the tradition of it.
“It's older and more ingrained than the more modern Rugby Championship, as much as they certainly want to go after that, and they're in [a] good position to do it.
“[The outside pressure is] not something I think too much about, because I think questions about me, or my interpretation of that, is a lot less important as how the players see it.
“They're the guys in the arena, and I'm a massive believer that as coaches we sit on the periphery of that. The guys are central to any performance, and the most important thing is their belief and demeanour going into a massive test like this.
“So for me, I'll be watching, I'll be very keen that we do well.”
