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Winning at Eden Park is a puzzle that has remained unsolvable for visiting Wallabies teams for the past 39 years.
On paper, it makes little sense. Wellington usually delivers a cold, swirling wind, Dunedin promises an intimidating atmosphere stacked with students, while Eden Park doubles up as a genteel cricket ground, nestled in pleasant Auckland suburbia.
Yet, Eden Park remains the toughest fortress in world rugby.
Three former players explain exactly why it’s almost impossible to win there.
The winning Wallaby
Simon Poidevin is a member of a small and exclusive club, the last Wallabies team to win at Eden Park, in 1986.
The comprehensive 22-9 victory sealed the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in New Zealand in 37 years, giving the former breakaway a key insight into what the Wallabies will face on Saturday.
“We didn’t care where we played, we were finishing an eight-week tour with the ability to win the Bledisloe [Cup] in New Zealand for the first time since 1949. That’s the thing that really mattered to us,” Poidevin said. “It wasn’t an intimidating ground; the intimidation came from playing the All Blacks, the best in the world at the time.”
Poidevin and his teammates never expected that 39 years on they would still be the last Wallabies team to defeat New Zealand at Eden Park. However, he believes the record provides strong motivation for the current All Blacks after a wave of criticism following their record loss to South Africa in Wellington earlier this month.
“Most people don’t appreciate how hard the New Zealand public are on marking their team,” Poidevin said. “If you’re playing a deciding Test, you do not want to be the team to lose [at Eden Park]; you do not want to be No.52 [the All Blacks are unbeaten at 51 Tests at Eden Park].
“It’s a monkey we need to get off our backs. If you want global recognition as the dragon slayer, beat these guys at Eden Park, and it doesn’t get any bigger.”
The Wallabies chair off captain Andrew Slack after beating New Zealand at Eden Park in 1986.Credit: John Selkirk
The All Blacks’ aura at Eden Park
Although rugby league dominated Sonny Bill Williams’ early life, the lure of playing at Eden Park was always there, and when he finally played as an All Black, the stadium provided him with a feeling of comfort that never left him.
“I didn’t grow up as a rugby player in New Zealand, but I knew what Eden Park was, and I always wanted to play there, even though I was a leaguie,” Williams said.
“So, when I became a rugby player and fell in love with the game, it was like your home, you just feel comfortable there.”
All Blacks Sonny Bill Williams tackles Quade Cooper at Eden Park.Credit: Peter Meecham
Williams played 11 Tests at Eden Park, winning all of them. The fact that so many opposition teams arrive in Auckland ready to end the All Blacks’ streak provides a unique motivation to the home team.
The last rival team to win at the stadium was France in 1994, with no team in the professional era leaving Eden Park triumphant. The Wallabies have played at the ground 35 times, winning just four games (in 1949, 1955, 1978 and 1986) with an average losing margin of 17 points.
“We still have that aura at Eden Park and that’s something that the boys don’t want to lose because it’s gone back for so long,” Williams said.
“From a mentality point of view, if you’re playing there against the All Blacks, you’re like, man, this is our chance, so that comes with added pressure.
“And if you’re there as an All Black, you’re like, man, this is something that we have to defend ... so for the All Blacks, it gives you that 5 per cent, 10 per cent confidence boost, and that matters a lot ...
“It’s like the Bledisloe Cup, you just don’t want to be part of the team that loses it. [Similarly] you do not want to be the team that loses at Eden Park.”
Explaining the Bermuda Triangle
Matt Burke was part of the Wallabies squad that nearly ended the Eden Park drought in 2003, losing 21-17, playing alongside current Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh. Australia have not come any closer since.
As a world-class goalkicker, Burke dealt with the wind that would sometimes swirl in from the open-ended parts of the ground behind the posts, but that never provided a major issue.
Matt Burke believes that the Wallabies can break the Eden Park curse after their victory against South Africa at Ellis Park.Credit: Fairfax Media
Burke played at more intimidating and larger grounds throughout his career, but understood there was something intangible at Eden Park, which created huge problems for the Wallabies.
“It’s like the Bermuda Triangle; it’s this space where things just don’t seem to happen or work where they would elsewhere,” Burke said.
“Teams get beaten before they even take the field, and that’s been part of the All Black aura for so many years.”
Burke has been impressed with the Wallabies’ mental toughness to recover from poor starts to beat Argentina in Townsville and South Africa in Johannesburg.
The Wallabies’ win at Ellis Park for the first time in 62 years gives the former Test fullback hope that Eden Park could be the next record broken.
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“For these players, when the haka starts, they need to look at it, accept it and realise what’s coming,” Burke said.
“Take your time, set yourself and rip in because it’s not as if you haven’t done it before [winning against the odds] ... but I reckon these blokes can do it, they’ve got a certain style of game they play and belief.”
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