Rugby: All Blacks Shouldn't Be Worried By Loss To Australia

For the game on Saturday, my prediction was almost pinpoint.

Except that Australia won, not New Zealand.

Now All Blacks fans have nothing to be worried about. Australia has to win three of the four games to win the Bledisloe Cup.

Australia was the better team on Saturday, but the All Blacks played one of their worst games in years. Never have I seen so many balls dropped at any level of rugby, let alone International.

To win two of the next three games, Australia is going to have to play some superb rugby, and, even after seeing them beat NZ of Saturday I don’t think they can do it.

First of all, they will have to play the All Blacks at home, where they haven’t won since Aug. 11, 2001. If they lose that, they can still win the cup by winning in Brisbane on Sept. 13 and in Hong Kong on Nov. 1.

But can anyone see the All Blacks playing that bad again in the near future?

Yes, Australia won, but they didn’t do anything special.

When a team beats the All Blacks when they are playing well, the opposition really has to produce something brilliant to win.

The home advantage could play a part when they play in Brisbane, and we could be in for a thriller for the game in Hong Kong.

The All Blacks have lost a massive amount of players to overseas clubs, something that doesn’t affect other countries half as much. But with the likes of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Ali Williams in the side, most New Zealanders would expect this All Black’s team to win more than it loses.

To most New Zealanders, the Tri Nations isn’t that big of a deal. They can forgive the team for not winning that; the trophy that means the most apart from the World Cup is the Bledisloe.

That should be enough motivation to see the All Blacks past the line, and win two of the last three games against Australia. Barring another horrendous game like the one witnessed on Saturday, the Bledisloe Cup should still be in the All Blacks' trophy cabinet this time next season.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?