They’re the best rugby union team in the world, so why do the All Blacks need to cheat?

The All Blacks (left) celebrate their 2015 Rugby World Cup win … but any hope of Bledisloe success for Wallabies captain Michael Hooper (right) will likely be curtailed if they're forced to play game one of the 2020 series just five days after emerging from quarantine. Pictures: File

It’s not a controversial statement to say our friends across the ditch have the best rugby team in the world. The All Blacks might have missed out on the last World Cup, but they won the two before that. They haven’t lost a Bledisloe Cup since 2002 and they’ve won three times as many Rugby Championships as Australia and South Africa.

What’s more, New Zealand teams have won the past five Super Rugby titles.

So why on Earth do they need to cheat?

That’s exactly what they are doing by insisting that this year’s first Bledisloe Test be played on October 10, just a few days after the Wallabies emerge blinking into the light from the onerous quarantine imposed by the New Zealand government.

All Blacks prop Karl Tu’inukuafe has good reason to smile at quarantine requirements imposed on the Wallabies. Picture: Getty Images

If the Wallabies do what the New Zealanders expect of them, they will jump on a plane the day after Saturday’s Super Rugby AU final and fly across the Tasman for two weeks of quarantine, during which they won’t be able to train as a team, before emerging with five days to prepare for a Test.

There will barely be time for a celebratory or consoling beer after Saturday’s final. They will arrive in New Zealand and immediately be shut in hotel rooms for three days, with no human contact. Then, if they pass a COVID test, they will be able to train in groups of 10, progressing over time to 15 and eventually 25. But proper training for the whole squad, with opposed sessions, will not happen until they get out of quarantine around Monday, October 5 — five days before the Test.

New coach Dave Rennie, preparing his first Wallabies squad, will be doing so with one hand tied behind his back. Some of the players will be still getting to know each other when they run out on to the field.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks are training together now and will be doing so right through until October 10. They were all together for team photos on September 6, for instance.

‘Coaching with one hand tied behind his back’ … Wallabies boss Dave Rennie. Picture: Getty Images

When it was first revealed that the Bledisloe Tests would be played in New Zealand, it was understood on this side of the Tasman that the game would be on October 17. Even the NZ Herald reported that the Tests would be played on October 17 and 24.

Would it be cynical to suggest that the Kiwis decided to spit the dummy and play hardball after SANZAAR decided to give The Rugby Championship to Australia rather than New Zealand? Interestingly, the tough Kiwi quarantine arrangements were presented as the reason for that decision.

Quite correctly, Rennie — with the full support of Rugby Australia — has threatened to boycott the Test unless the Kiwis back off and agree to play it on October 17. “Under those quarantine arrangements, I can assure you we will not be playing a Test in NZ that weekend,” he said on Sunday.

Sevu Reece celebrates a try during the All Blacks’ Bledisloe Cup Test victory over Australia at Eden Park in August last year. Picture: Getty Images

The Wallabies would be lambs to the slaughter if they agreed to play under such circumstances. Truth be told, they face a monumental hurdle even if they have an extra week to prepare. On five days’ work, they will be cut to pieces.

And who wins if that is the case? Australian rugby, already bruised and battered, takes another beating. The Kiwis look like schoolyard bullies. No one benefits from a Bledisloe series so dramatically weighted in favour of one side.

Kiwis are renowned as a nation of decent, unpretentious people, led by a Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who is apparently a champion of equality and a fair go.

She needs to extend the fair go to the Wallabies. Either reschedule the opening Test to October 17 or relax the quarantine rules so the Wallabies can train properly in their bubble.

Bear in mind that Australia has already set the example. In the weeks before the NRL returned to the field, Australian teams were not able to train together until the New Zealand Warriors had time to get across the Tasman and set themselves up in a quarantine hub with full training facilities.