Rugby Championship: Five reasons the Wallabies can be hopeful of beating the All Blacks

After a 67-27 thrashing at the hands of Argentina in Santa Fe, Joe Schmidt’s Australia must now prepare for a bruising encounter with rivals New Zealand on 21st September.

It looks set to be a daunting test for the Wallabies in Sydney but here are five reasons Australia can be hopeful of causing an upset against the All Blacks.

Night is darkest before the dawn

It really was a tough watch in Santa Fe for Wallabies supporters, as the tourists were blown away by Los Pumas after beating Argentina 20-19 the previous weekend in La Plata.

Scoring 27 points in an away game should be commended in the Rugby Championship but it was Australia’s shocking defence that saw them leave South America with plenty to think about.

The Wallabies can’t defend much worse than they did against Argentina last time out and expect a response from Australia in Sydney.

Accor Stadium has history of upsets

Australia have a decent record when it comes to games against their old rivals New Zealand at Accor Stadium.

The Wallabies have won seven previous games against the All Blacks at this impressive Sydney venue.

Granted their last win against the Kiwis at this stadium was back in August 2015, with the Wallabies running out 27-19 winners.

However, a big crowd at Accor Stadium can provide the boost needed for this current crop of Australia players to put on a performance.

All Blacks will have felt Boks’ force

New Zealand will head to Sydney on the back of two bruising encounters with South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The All Blacks ran the reigning world champions close in both Test matches but ended up losing 31-27 at Ellis Park and 18-12 at Cape Town Stadium.

Those physical encounters will have taken their toll on New Zealand and Australia will hope to take advantage when they meet on 21st September.

Schmidt knows Kiwi way

Schmidt’s previous role before taking over as Australia head coach from Eddie Jones was with New Zealand as the team’s selector and coach.

The man from Kawakawa will know plenty about this All Blacks squad and where their strengths and very few weaknesses will lie.

If anyone can try to help the Wallabies cause an upset in Sydney, Schmidt is well-placed to do it, given his recent history with the All Blacks.

Dunedin can provide inspiration

The last time these sides met was back in August last year at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, in what was an intriguing 2023 World Cup warm-up match.

Australia almost pulled off a stunning victory but fell just short in a 23-20 defeat on the South Island.

The Wallabies can look at what went right in that last meeting with the All Blacks and try to implement it at Accor Stadium, as they look to put that Argentina defeat to bed and end a seven-game losing streak against New Zealand.