Bledisloe Cup

Wallabies chase history as All Blacks prepare for extended stint overseas

After a near sell out at the same ground last weekend, there are still plenty of tickets left for tomorrow night's match, despite it likely being the All Blacks final home game of the season.

New Zealand Rugby declining to provide a ticket sales figure last night, only confirming there were tickets still available in all categories. It's understood between 20,000 and 30,000 tickets had been sold for the match as Friday morning. Eden Park has a capacity of about 50,000. Last week the crowd attendance was about 47,000.

One change for All Blacks for second Bledisloe Cup test

Will Jordan comes into the run on side for injured centre Anton Lienert-Brown. Jordan will start on the right wing, with Sevu Reece moving to the left wing and Rieko Ioane moving from the left wing to centre.

Lienert-Brown has been ruled out with a knee injury.

David Havili remains at second-five and Damian McKenzie remains at fullback.

Halfback TJ Perenara is in the reserves and returns to the matchday 23 for the first time this year.

One hand on Bledisloe Cup but still plenty to ponder for All Blacks

The hosts won Saturday's opener 33-25 over the Wallabies in Auckland, leaving the visitors needing to break a 35 year hoodoo at Eden Park this weekend to have any hope of winning back the trophy for the first time since 2002.

It was a far from flawless display from New Zealand but they celebrated Aaron Smith becoming the 10th All Blacks centurion with a win and despite the patchy performance, it was still an occasion he'll never forget.

"It was a dream and goal of mine so it's surreal it's happened," Smith said.

All Blacks too strong for Wallabies but have plenty to work on

Unbeaten at the Auckland venue since 1994, Ian Foster's side ran in three tries in a 13-minute burst after the break to kill off the contest with an awesome display of forward muscle and backline inspiration.

Wallabies fullback Tom Banks scored two late tries and Jordan Uelese grabbed another after the siren to give the visitors a flattering final scoreline.

The damage was done earlier as All Blacks scrumhalf Aaron Smith celebrated his 100th test with a win and his team took a 1-0 lead in the Bledisloe Cup, the annual trophy contested by the trans-Tasman nations.

Wellington loses two All Blacks tests, Eden Park gets back to back games

The opening Bledisloe Cup game against the Wallabies remains at Eden Park this Saturday, and because of the pause in the trans-Tasman travel bubble, game two (which doubles as the Rugby Championship opener) will now also be played in Auckland a week later.

The game was originally scheduled for Perth on August 21st.

Sanzaar wanted the match to be played on a Saturday night, effectively ruling Wellington out as a venue with the Beervana event scheduled for next weekend.

Quade Cooper 'pushing hard' to be picked in Bledisloe Cup test

For some, especially those who have delighted in Cooper experiencing defeat and misery in Auckland over the years, it could possibly blow their minds.

The fact Cooper, who hasn’t represented Australia at Eden Park since 2016, is even being considered by coach Dave Rennie’s for the Bledisloe Cup match on Saturday night is hard enough to comprehend.

So the prospect of him helping the team to a victory over the All Blacks, at a ground where the Wallabies haven’t won since 1986, could be too much for a number of parochial New Zealanders to get their heads around.

Shannon Frizell suspended for opening Bledisloe Cup test after court appearance

NZR held a misconduct hearing and suspended Frizell for two matches, with the other one being the Highlanders’ Super Rugby match against the Reds in May, which he was stood down for after news of the incident emerged.

The 27-year-old appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday where he faced two charges of male assaults female and another of common assault.

Police allege Frizell assaulted two people, including a woman, at Vault 21, a popular restaurant/bar in Dunedin's Octagon, in May.

Reece returns for the All Blacks

He had missed the earlier three games.

Reece has scored four tries in 7 games for the All Blacks.

He was the Super Rugby Rookie of the Year last year.

Former Fiji under 20 rep, Alex Hodgman is on the bench while Hoskins Sotutu has been rested this week.

Beauden Barrett returns to his preferred first five position while Jordie Barrett moves to fullback.

The Bledisloe Cup is staying put

New Zealand's beaten Australia 43-5 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four test series.

The All Blacks had all but locked up the trans-Tasman trophy by halftime, when they led 26-0, having scored four unanswered tries.

First-five Richie Mo'unga scored two of them. The first was a brilliant solo effort from a scrum inside the Wallabies' 22, while the second came when he collected a Beauden Barrett chip kick inside the All Blacks' half and ran away to dot down under the posts.

All Blacks don't see Wallabies new boys as weak link: Cane

The ACT Brumbies pair have come in at first and second-five to replace the injured James O'Connor and Matt Toomua in a backline where the seven players have only five more caps between them than captain Michael Hooper (101) has himself.

The match in Sydney also doubles as the third Bledisloe Cup test between the sides, with the Wallabies needing to win to have any hope of winning the series.

A win for the All Blacks would mean the retain the trophy for an 18th straight year.