Super Rugby is no gauge for form at test level and Australia will be competitive during the Bledisloe Cup series, according to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
Australian rugby has been plunged into morbid introspection after a series whitewash at home to England and after all five of the country’s Super Rugby teams lost their matches in the penultimate round of the competition last weekend.
Four of the Super sides were subjected to thrashings by rampaging New Zealand teams who will take four out of five of the available playoff spots for the Australasian group in the southern hemisphere tournament.
Only one Australian team will qualify for the playoffs and only by virtue of winning their national conference.
Local media on both sides of the Tasman sea have seen New Zealand’s Super Rugby dominance as a taste of things to come when the Wallabies meet the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup, the annual trophy contested between the nations.
But Hansen was having none of it.
“History tells you it doesn’t matter where you finish in Super Rugby, it’s how you come together as a national team,” he told New Zealand’s Radio Sport yesterday.
“Australia will field a very strong side. They will be hurting after their 3-0 loss to England and I think they’ll be competitive.”
The All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003.
Australia had a rare victory over the All Blacks to win the abridged Rugby Championship last year but lost the World Cup final to their neighbouring rivals.
The June series loss against England was a big reality check for Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, whose commitment to running rugby has been questioned.
But the Wallabies team that lines up for the four-nation Rugby Championship is likely to be boosted by a number of seasoned campaigners based overseas, including playmaker Matt Giteau and scrumhalf Will Genia, who both sat out the June internationals.
The All Blacks will also have reinforcements, including centre Sonny Bill Williams, who is tipped for a speedy return after his bid for an Olympic medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games with New Zealand’s rugby sevens side.
Hansen confirmed that midfielder Charlie Ngatai, who has struggled with concussion symptoms for much of the Super Rugby season, would be rested during the Rugby Championship, paving the way for Williams to slot back in.
“Unfortunately Charlie Ngatai with his concussion hasn’t done any training for nine weeks, and he’s probably now an end-of-year (tour) candidate,” Hansen said.