Five straight final quarter fades isn’t the only issue the All Blacks must solve in their rematch with the Wallabies this weekend. The buffeting Wellington wind carries the seemingly crippling curse of the capital, too.
The All Blacks’ final home Test of the year, before embarking on an arduous five match northern tour, assumes significance for several notable reasons this week.
The Bledisloe Cup is locked away for a 22nd straight year following a knife-edge 31-28 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney, after the All Blacks suffered another second-half collapse to grimly hold on at the death.
While that coveted silverware is secure, Sam Cane becoming the All Blacks’ 13th centurion, and he and TJ Perenara preparing for the final home Tests of their respective careers, mark major milestones the team are determined to honour. Then there’s the Wellington hoodoo.
While it doesn’t yet rival the Boston Red Sox’ 86-year Curse of the Bambino territory, the All Blacks’ six-year winless stretch in the capital is perplexing, particularly when compared alongside their 50-Test, 30-year unbeaten status at fortress Eden Park.
Since their win against France in June 2018, the All Blacks have suffered losses to the Springboks (36-34), Ireland (32-22) and Pumas (38-30) at the Hurricanes home.
In that time Wellington also hosted two All Blacks draws, both of which finished 16-16, one with the Springboks, the other against Dave Rennie’s Wallabies.
Last month’s Rugby Championship Test against the Pumas was supposed to provide the perfect opportunity for Scott Robertson to snap the All Blacks’ dire record in Wellington.
Felipe Contepomi’s Pumas, who have since knocked off the world champion Springboks and Wallabies in Argentina, instead stunned the All Blacks.
And so the mystery of the harbourside stadium lingers. Maybe it’s the yellow seats. Maybe the swirling wind. No one can pinpoint why the All Blacks can’t win in Wellington.
“I wish I knew. It’s quite bizarre really,” Cane said this week. “It’s probably something that hadn’t been highlighted until you guys brought it up a couple of Test matches ago. It’s quite crazy that a short trip up the road and we haven’t lost for 50 odd games.
“As a group we’ve touched on it this week and we’re pretty excited about the opportunity to hopefully sort that out and put an awesome performance we can be proud of but also those who have bought a ticket to come and support us can be proud of.
“We’ve alluded to the fact it hasn’t been good enough. We haven’t repaid the fans down here that have come out to watch us. The Wellington region itself we haven’t fronted up and delivered for them. I don’t know the exact reasons why but we’ll be doing everything we can to put on a full 80-minute performance.”
The All Blacks usually shy away from acknowledging peripheral records but as Will Jordan prepares to retain the fullback jersey after his best performance of the season last week in Sydney, he reiterated Cane’s sentiments on the desire to banish the Wellington graveyard.
“It’s something we haven’t addressed too much in the past but with how it’s gone we’ve had a bit of a discussion about it this morning,” Jordan said earlier this week.
“From a players’ point of view, it’s humbling to see the sellout this weekend for our last home game in New Zealand this year. We’re excited about going out there and hopefully put on a performance that the ground and this region deserves. It’s hugely motivating for us to get a win this week.”
Solving the All Blacks’ final quarter meltdowns would go a long way to curing the Wellington curse.
Blowing sizable leads against Argentina in Wellington (20-8) and the Springboks at Ellis Park (27-18) cost Robertson’s All Blacks victories in those contests.
In Sydney the All Blacks escaped despite botching a 21-0 lead – and being outscored 28-3 in the last 56 minutes.
Everything from the composition of the All Blacks’ bench to their on-field leadership under new captain Scott Barrett to game management, the kicking strategy, attacking execution and discipline has been questioned in the quest to identify why Robertson’s men haven’t scored in the final quarter of their last five Tests.
The All Blacks continued malaise at the backend of contests, when the blowtorch is amplified, is a melting pot of all those concerns.
Five yellow cards in their last three Tests – two in the last 15 minutes in Sydney has put the All Blacks on the backfoot but those discipline problems stem from execution and game management.
After completely dominating the opening quarter in Sydney the All Blacks had 38% territory in the second half against the Wallabies to shine a spotlight on their kicking strategy.
Every aspect of their All Blacks’ fragility in their final quarter meltdowns is interlinked.
If Robertson’s men are to break their Wellington curse, they must tackle their closing demons, too.