#wallabies

#wallabies

The Wallabies' hopes for an unlikely Rugby Championship triumph are hanging by a thread ahead of their final match against the All Blacks in Perth on Saturday, and despite looming international upheaval the Australians are trying not to look further ahead. The final home Test for 2025 is followed by a trip to Japan and then Europe a spring tour that will demonstrate the level of improvement under coach Joe Schmidt, who will hand over the reins to Les Kiss next year.

If it's the hope that kills you then Wallabies fans have been dying a slow death for 39 years at Eden Park, the venue for this Saturday's first Test of the Bledisloe Cup. The Auckland venue is the All Blacks' fortress. They have not lost there since 1994 and are unbeaten across 51 Tests (49 wins, two draws). No Australian team has won at Eden Park since the 1986 side led by Andrew Slack and coached by Alan Jones.

You've just got to kind of bank what's happened in the past in that game one ... we've got to not necessarily start again, but we've got to build on what we've started and making sure that under pressure we deliver that in the 80 minutes on the weekend.

Mack Hansen is expected to miss the first Test against the Wallabies due to a foot injury, impacting his chance to join the Lions.

The eleventh-hour inclusion of James O'Connor in Australia's squad for the Test series against the British & Irish Lions comes after a successful Super Rugby season with the Crusaders, even though he last played for the Wallabies in 2022. Schmidt noted that O'Connor has stayed connected with the team, and despite not having played under him yet, he is confident in O'Connor's ability to catch up quickly before the series begins.