David Campese: Time for Wallabies to show no mercy against fading All Blacks

Wallaby great David Campese has declared the once mighty All Blacks are fading, and Australia’s time to wrest back the Bledisloe Cup after 16 years of misery is now at Eden Park.

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The All Blacks are fading, and Australia’s time to wrest back the Bledisloe Cup after 16 years of misery is now.

That is the declaration of Wallaby great David Campese, who believes New Zealand captain Kieran Read and halfback Aaron Smith are showing signs of decline, leaving the Kiwis vulnerable to lose their first match at Eden Park since 1994.

“Maybe these guys have had their time,” Campese told The Daily Telegraph.

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David Campese, flanked by Wallabies James O’Connor and Michael Hooper, reckons the All Blacks are showing signs of decline. Picture: Rugby AU Media/Stuart Walmsley

“We had great teamwork last week, what I would have loved to see is us go on and put 50 points past them, because that’s what they do to us. Now it should be our turn.

“The All Blacks have lost a lot of good players to overseas, Super Rugby has been good for them but they’ve had a lot of injuries to key players.

“You build good form and confidence through regular game time.

“Kieran Read only played about five Super Rugby games, he’s still a bloody good player but is he as dominant as he used to be four years ago?

“And Aaron Smith just gets to the ruck and passes, he doesn’t run anymore.

“They’re little habits and now it appears they’re taking the easy way out.

“Has the coach been there too long as well? Who knows. If you look at our team, (Michael) Cheika has changed the game plan quite a bit.

David Campese has questioned All Blacks captain Keiran Read’s impact. Picture: AAP

“He’s brought back Nic White who had been overseas for a few years and the All Blacks had no idea how to defend him.”

Campese, a member of the last Wallaby team to defeat New Zealand at Eden Park in 1986, met with Australian captain Michael Hooper and centre James O’Connor on the turf of the Kiwi fortress on Friday, offering some words of advice.

“The scary thing is the last time we won here, these guys weren’t born, that’s how long it’s been,” Campese said. “It’s just that moment in your life you’ll be able to look back on and say, ‘We were are part of bringing the trophy back’.

“They haven’t been beaten at Eden Park since 1994, and France played outstanding rugby that day to get that win.

“It’s not going to be easy, but it would be great for Australian rugby.”

The Wallabies have a great chance to end their Eden Park hoodoo against the All Blacks. Picture: AAP

Campese told them: “Go out there and enjoy the moment, believe you can do it.

“The Wallabies have a great tradition, when we played it wasn’t about playing for each other but for those who had gone before and played for us and died during the war.

“Every kid, every supporter, everyone in Australia is behind you.

“I played them 29 times and I won nine, that’s not a great ratio but it wasn’t bad in those times. We became used to beating them, there was a lot of belief.

“In that 1986 game, there was a lot of pressure on us, and then in one moment, Topo Rodriguez picked up Hika Reid and drove him back in a tackle, and everything changed.

“That was Topo’s job, it’s what he was on the field to do, but everyone thought ‘If Topo can do his job then so can I’, and we all developed that belief one by one.”

Sonny Bill Williams has been recalled to the All Blacks’ line-up for their crucial clash with the Wallabies at Eden Park. Picture: AFP

Rarely in the past decade has there been such excitement on both sides of the Tasman about a Bledisloe match – to be shown live and ad-free on Fox Sports at 5.30pm.

And rarely has Read been under this much pressure as skipper of a side that has won back-to-back World Cups and 16 consecutive Bledisloe series, yet has managed just two wins from their past five games, including last weekend’s record 47-26 thrashing by Australia.

“These moments are built for us as All Blacks, the way you’re going to respond is crucial,” Read said.

“This group is hurting, it’s how it should be in an All Black jersey and we’ve got that chance tomorrow night to rectify that and we’re excited by that.”