D'Arcy Waldegrave: The best thing for the first Bledisloe fixture would be an ABs loss

The best thing that could happen in the first Bledisloe Cup fixture is a loss for the All Blacks. Or a win for the Wallabies, the same, but different. The ABs could choke it up in the last 20, ergo lose, or the Wallabies could pull a massive hat rabbit and beat up their opposition, therefore win. 

The best thing meaning the best way to pump some blood through the veins of the age-old encounter. It would be a marketing dream. It would bring a much-needed story line. It would bring fear, jeopardy, self-doubt and all those other triggering emotions. It would sell the game, it would provide story threads desperately needed for what was once a rugby highlight.  

The fact that the Bledisloe Cup is all the All Blacks have left in their trophy cabinet is a good way to generate fascination, but that will only gain real traction if this evening’s game goes the way of the Ockers. 

Only then will we get the simultaneous energy of potential and desperation. 

Maybe then we’d get a skerrick of emotion from both teams.  

It’s a shame to wish ill upon the national side just to elicit genuine emotion and vibrant narratives, but frankly, it’s come to that. 

The best we’ve had this week is 2 captains, one saying he’d hate to be the captain responsible for losing the Cup and the other saying the game represents a great opportunity. 

Really? Wow, I’d never have guessed. Hold the phone, stop the press. Sensational.  

What else have you got? A game of two halves? Full credit to the opposition? Learnings? Moving forward? Process?  

Bring on a loss, let’s generate some bloody emotion!  

But it’s the All Blacks. It’s rugby. It’s probably asking too much. 

I’ll get my coat. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildegrave from Newstalk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
This newstalk's ab on the All Sport Breakfast. I'm Darcy
Wadigrave and I'm gonna tell you a few things. I'm
gonna tell you a few things about what's going on
in rugby at the moment. You know, I'm fascinated by
the fact we don't have a relevant storyline running through
what we're seeing now at the Bledisloe Cup. We need
to lose this Why do we need to lose this game?

(00:33):
We need to lose this game because we need to
invigorate the storylines. We haven't had a proper storyline for
this Blitterslow Cup. It's been rigid, it's been dull, it
has been paint by numbers right from the get go.
The best we've got is a couple of captains, one saying, oh,
it's our best opportunity to win this against the All Blacks,

(00:56):
and the other one going, I'd hate to be the
first captain to lose the Blederslow Cup in twenty years.
Did you write that? No, Sherlock, really, I need something else.
I think we all need something else. And what are
we going to get if the Wallabies managed to win
or as we've seen recently, the All Blacks managed to lose,

(01:16):
and yet there is a big difference. They could choke
it up in the last twenty minutes, although the Australians
are pretty good at doing it themselves. They choked it
up in the last twenty minutes up against Argentina. But
if the All Blacks lose or the Wallabies win, suddenly
there is stress, Suddenly there is tension. Suddenly there's a
bit more than just your standard one hundred and ten

(01:37):
percent for the full eighty minute platitudes. And thanks to
the women for oranges at halftime, and let's go through
our learnings and so on and so forth. We need
something else to explode under the Bledderslow Cup to bring
interest back again. And what could be more interesting in
the Blederslow Cup than the Australians rolling the New Zealanders

(01:58):
at home in Blederslow number one suddenly and the Test
match coming up in Wilmington. There is so much on
the line. It's not presumed like it is at the moment,
but it will be absolutely real, It'll be palpable, it'll
be right in front of us. You drop this one
and the All Blacks trophy cabinet is empty. There is

(02:20):
nothing in it. There's no Freedom Cup, there is no
World Cup, the Bledterslow Cup is gone. Now that is jeopardy,
that is stress, that is tension, and only through that
will you get decent storylines for the better Zo Cup.
Because all we've had this week has been so tired,
it's been so dull, and it really hasn't done a

(02:40):
great deal for the exchange at all. It needs something
and what it needs is the All Blacks to lose
tonight to the Australians like it or lump it. That's
what has to happen.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
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