Wallabies face New Zealand at Eden Park in Bledisloe opener

Australia will face New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday in the opening match of the 2026 Bledisloe Cup series, seeking to end a four-decade wait for a win at the Auckland venue. The match was upcoming in reports published on October 8 and 9; no result was available in the supplied accounts. The Wallabies last beat the All Blacks at Eden Park in 1986. New Zealand have not lost a Test at the stadium since 1994, a run reported as 53 matches. Australia have not held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002 and need to win both the Auckland opener and the return match in Sydney the following week to reclaim it. Captain Harry Wilson said Australia expected New Zealand to play long attacking phases and move the ball across the field. He said the Wallabies had prepared for that style and would face a different challenge from South Africa, which Australia beat 42-38 in Perth last month. Wilson said the 2025 victory over South Africa in Johannesburg, which ended a 62-year wait for an Australian win at the venue, had given the squad confidence. He pointed to the team’s late defence in Perth, when Australia were down to 11 players, as another source of belief.