All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said he is not using his abrupt sacking as Wallabies coach as motivational fuel as rival Les Kiss confirmed he was keeping aerial weapon Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the wing to help conjure a Bledisloe boilover.
The coaches have named their sides for the opening clash at Eden Park on Saturday, and while Rennie was left to deal with more injuries to key players – pivot Richie Mo’unga has been ruled out – Kiss had much better fortune with star Len Ikitau overcoming an ankle injury to line up at centre.
As revealed on Tuesday, Ikitau was named at No.12, replacing suspended hitman Hunter Paisami, and Reds centre Isaac Henry won a recall at outside-centre. The latter’s selection means Suaalii will be deployed on the wing again to use his leaping ability to contest kicks.
Rennie offered the Wallabies a potential target, too, by naming veteran playmaker Beauden Barrett at fullback and Damian McKenzie in the No.10. The All Blacks had already lost pivot Ruben Love to injury.
In other changes, the Wallabies recalled Massimo De Lutiis and Nick Champion de Crespigny to the bench, replacing Taniela Tupou and Tom Hooper, who have both returned to their club sides.
The Wallabies haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup since 2002, but on the back of a six-game unbeaten streak, and with New Zealand having lost their past three Tests against South Africa, Australia are being talked up in the Kiwi media as being in one of their strongest positions in years.
The backstory to this Bledisloe Cup series is unprecedented. Rennie will become the first man to serve as head coach for Australia and New Zealand. He coached the Wallabies for 34 Tests between 2020 and 2022, and is the last man to lead Australia to a win over the Kiwis, in 2020.
Rennie was sacked by Rugby Australia at the end of 2022 to make way for Eddie Jones. He went on to coach in Japan and took over as All Blacks coach earlier this year, but has barely spoken publicly about his contentious Wallabies exit in the past three years.
Asked on Thursday how he felt about his treatment by RA and he if he was motivated to beat the Wallabies based on it, Rennie continued to play a straight bat.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “I’ve got no regrets. I got to work with some really good people, people I have a lot of time for. It is a part of a game that we’re involved in.
“I enjoyed my time in Japan. I’ve loved coming back here and working with these guys. We’ve got great people, players and staff, and I’m enjoying that. So we’re highly motivated. But it’s not about me.”
Rennie was quick to praise the Wallabies, however, saying they will be a dangerous opponent at Eden Park on Saturday.
“I know a lot about the players, obviously,” he said. “There’s a big number of them started in 2020. And, you know, they’ve now played, well, you know, 50 or 60 or 70 Tests.
“So what we know is they’re a good side, they’re experienced and they’ve played a lot of footy together. We’re well aware of the strength of that team. They’ll come here confident. They’ve had a good run recently. And as you saw against that [South] African side, they’re pretty dominant for 70 minutes.”
Rennie said the belief gained from an unbeaten run under Kiss, and a last-start win over the Springboks in particular, would make them even more formidable.
“They’ve got a pretty good understanding too of how they’re trying to play,” he said. “And you’ve got some guys in there who are the best in the world, if not close to that. So, yeah, a lot more dangerous.
“But I think that’s good for us, too. You know, we’ve come out of South Africa, we’ve got a bit of a point to prove there and we’re up against a really worthy opponent. We know we’re going to have to be at our best.”
The Wallabies haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup in 24 years, and it is also 40 years since Australia beat the Kiwis at Eden Park.
Asked if there was more pressure to defend the Bledisloe Cup than try to win it back, Rennie said: “Probably, yeah.
“All sides who come here want to be seen to break the record, so they’ll be highly motivated. I think the Irish were the same when we spoke to them post-game. We’re well aware of what’s coming.
“We talk about it. No one wants to be part of the first team for a long time to lose at Eden Park or lose the Bledisloe. So you’ve got to reflect on that. But you can’t get stuck in there. We’ve discussed it, and then we use that as fuel.”
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
