SYDNEY — Damian McKenzie and Declan Meredith face off at fly-half at Accor Stadium on Saturday as New Zealand and Australia meet in the second Bledisloe Cup Test, a fixture the All Blacks have already retained for a 24th straight year on the back of 12 wins on the bounce. Both sides have been hit hard by injury since Eden Park — Australia at fly-half and centre and New Zealand at fly-half and on the wing — and the contest will go to whoever copes better, with Dave Rennie warning that Australia are "a proud side who'll be hurting after Eden Park".
The Cup may be gone but the stakes remain sharp for the Wallabies in their last home Test of 2026, twelve months out from a home World Cup. Australia have not beaten New Zealand since Brisbane in November 2020 and have not beaten them in Sydney since 2015, with the last meeting at this ground two years ago finishing 31-28 to the All Blacks after a late Wallaby rally. At Eden Park last time out the first half finished 17-14 and could have gone either way before New Zealand pulled clear 33-5 in the second half, running in seven tries to three to inflict Les Kiss's first defeat as Wallabies coach and stretch the Eden Park unbeaten run to 54 Tests.
Both coaches left Auckland with longer casualty lists than they arrived with. New Zealand were already without Ardie Savea, Ruben Love and Luke Jacobson for the year, and Richie Mo'unga's calf injury is now a six to eight week job that may keep him out of the Nations Championship tour altogether, while Leroy Carter damaged an ankle as he scored, Anton Segner and Asafo Aumua were concussed after clashing heads in the same tackle, and Ethan Blackadder and Fehi Fineanganofo are also out. Australia's losses cut through the spine of their attack — the fly-half and both centres who started in Perth. Carter Gordon and Tom Lynagh were already out, Ben Donaldson felt his kicking leg on Thursday morning and did not train, Len Ikitau failed an HIA inside the first half-hour at Eden Park and is serving his stand-down, Hunter Paisami is suspended, Jordan Petaia rolled an ankle in training, and Taniela Tupou and Tom Hooper are back at Racing 92 and Exeter because the Test sits outside the window. Meredith, with three caps, becomes the seventh different Wallaby fly-half in 17 Tests.
Rennie has made three changes to his starting XV and five on the bench, with Josh Moorby replacing Carter on the left wing, Fabian Holland returning at lock for Josh Lord and George Bower starting at loosehead for Ethan de Groot — the latter two dropped rather than injured — while Scott Barrett, who left Eden Park with the medics, has been passed fit to start. Kiss has made four changes and moved two, with Meredith in for Donaldson, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii shifting back to 13 with Isaac Henry moving to 12, Harry Potter promoted from the bench to the left wing, Aidan Ross in at loosehead for Angus Bell and Josh Nasser at hooker for Brandon Paenga-Amosa, who drops out of the 23 completely with Bell on the bench. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto wins his 50th cap and Rob Valetini keeps his place despite the tackle that ended Carter's evening. The selections follow McKenzie keeping the All Blacks 10 shirt as Rennie rings the changes earlier this week.
Much will be decided in the air, where Eden Park was won. Rennie noted this week that only about one contestable kick in four is caught clean by the receiving side, and New Zealand's answer in Auckland was to come forward and compete for everything, with chasers tracking back to block legally — Will Jordan's track-back starting the move for one of the seven tries. Australia's back three had been picked to win that battle and lost it, and the box-kicking that won in Perth went missing. Rennie has picked Moorby over Rieko Ioane expecting shorter, more contestable kicking from Australia, whose aerial unit will be Potter, Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright, while Kiss wants his catchers starting deeper with a sweeper behind to tidy the drop zone. Luke Pearce, swapped from the touchline to the whistle, will have the escort runner in his eyeline all afternoon. With the aerial exchanges won, territory and possession followed — New Zealand had almost 60 per cent of possession and 61 per cent of territory in the second half at Eden Park after ceding the ball early and conceding 13 turnovers, winning the first 20 minutes of each half 14-7 and 14-0 as the Wallabies made 200 tackles to 144 and missed 30. Kiss's response is two specialist opensides in Fraser McReight and Carlo Tizzano off the bench, though that ploy depends on winning the collision first; if the All Black forwards are over the gainline, the ruck is formed and the ball gone before the fetcher arrives.