LIVE: Extraordinary pre-match attack on Jones

If gamesmanship could triumph Test matches, Eddie Jones' Wallabies would bushed the All Blacks astatine the Melbourne Cricket Ground contiguous (7.45pm AEST) and instrumentality a elephantine measurement towards returning the Bledisloe Cup to Australia aft 21 years.

Unfortunately, Test matches thin to bespeak hard facts and a cruel reality.

The Wallabies person made a 0-2 commencement to the play with losses to South Africa and Argentina.

New Zealand is 2-0 aft comfortably beating the aforesaid 2 teams.

In Jones' satellite that means the All Blacks volition beryllium fearing Australia successful Saturday's match.

That's astatine slightest partially true. The All Blacks ever are wary of the Wallabies and cognize the past of matches betwixt good capable to cognize Australia tin beryllium astir unsafe erstwhile it's slightest expected to perform.

But grounds of the 2 rounds of the Rugby Championship truthful acold aren't benignant to Jones' thesis. The All Blacks went to Mendoza, Argentina and bushed the Pumas 41-12, came location and bushed the satellite champion Springboks 35-20 little than a week later.

They looked polished and assured successful some matches, making beardown starts and holding retired immoderate threatening rallies.

Australia mislaid 43-12 to the Boks successful Johannesburg and suffered a morale-sapping 34-31 nonaccomplishment to Argentina astatine location 2 weeks ago.

Jones' professed assurance the Wallabies volition bushed the All Blacks connected Saturday cannot beryllium said to beryllium founded connected coagulated evidence. It is not successful his quality to admit his teams are deficient successful immoderate country but their archetypal 2 performances person suggested they person a agelong mode to spell to trial the starring teams astatine the World Cup aboriginal this twelvemonth successful France.

The information helium has made 7 changes to his lineup for Saturday and thrown 22-year-old flyhalf Carter Gordon into the fray successful his archetypal Test and arsenic portion of a caller halves pairing suggests Jones is inactive searching for a way.

In the meantime, helium has done his champion to transportation arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable of the unit presently connected the Wallabies connected to the All Blacks.

"There's thing amended than winning against New Zealand due to the fact that you're feeling the state sinking," Jones said.

"It's not conscionable rugby that sinks, the state sinks. The full system goes down. The premier curate is determination with his fingers crossed hoping the All Blacks triumph due to the fact that helium knows the system volition driblet if they lose. So we tin person that effect and astatine the immoderate clip Australian kids privation to play rugby again. At the infinitesimal excessively galore privation to play AFL."

As always, there's a nugget of information successful what Jones says. It has agelong been rumoured that a important All Blacks nonaccomplishment impacts the New Zealand economy. There was besides a content that the All Blacks' nonaccomplishment to triumph a World Cup successful the 1990s resulted successful the autumn of the authorities successful an predetermination the aforesaid year.

This is an predetermination twelvemonth successful New Zealand and Jones mightiness wittingly oregon unwittingly person tapped into that belief.

He remains adamant the All Blacks arsenic favourites transportation greater unit into this lucifer than the Wallabies. New Zealand needs lone 1 triumph to enactment the Bledisloe Cup safely distant for different year.

The teams play the 2nd Bledisloe Cup lucifer adjacent Saturday successful Dunedin.

"Can we enactment the Kiwis nether unit connected Saturday? Yes, nether a batch of pressure, and possibly they're going to get a spot of a surprise," Jones said.

"(I) tin spot the mode you're sitting present reasoning 'what is this bloke talking about? How tin that Australian squad instrumentality connected New Zealand?

"We've been fantastic the archetypal 2 games.' And you person been mate, you've been truly fantastic, truthful you haven't changed, you're inactive fans with keyboards, truthful nothing's changed."

Jones has agelong called New Zealand rugby media "fans with keyboards."