Wallabies’ progress since Ewen McKenzie became coach from dfds dsfdf's blog

New Zealand vs Australia Live Stream self-confidence and trust in their physical presence. But they will need all of this – plus more – to beat the All Blacks on Saturday, says former captain Stirling Mortlock.

“That’s the reality,” Mortlock, the Wallabies 2007 World Cup captain, said on Sunday.New Zealand vs Australia Live

“[The All Blacks] are that good – that even when you have that physicality and that presence, when you rip in at the breakdown and do have that momentum for large periods of time of the game, they usually find  a way to still be in the game, if not leading.”

No easy task: Stirling Mortlock says the Wallabies need to play to their best even to have a hope of beating the All Blacks. Photo: Mal Fairclough

As were so many, the 80-Test veteran was impressed by the Brumbies and Waratahs in their Super Rugby semi-final square off, and especially with how the Waratahs came out victors and then went on to beat the Crusaders in Sydney to win the title.

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“Both of those teams have made inroads in their physicality in their set-piece, which historically has been a bit of a concern for the Australian team,” Mortlock said.

“But I think [the Waratahs’] physicality and confidence and their defensive pattern was the best out of an Australian provincial team I have seen for quite some time. It was the first time … in a long time I have seen an Australian team matching it physically, dominating physically, the opposition.”

Mortlock hopes that dominance will transfer into the Wallabies game.

But he believes that against the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, where the Waratahs won their Super Rugby crown, this alone will not be enough.

Of the 16 Tests he played against the All Blacks, Mortlock – who was also in the Wallabies’ last Bledisloe Cup-winning team, in 2002 – was in the losing side 12 times.

But of the four games that ended in wins against the All Blacks, three were at Homebush – including a 2003 Test in which he scored an intercept try that helped the Wallabies beat the All Blacks 22-10 in the World Cup semi-final.

Based on the Wallabies’ progress since Ewen McKenzie became coach a year ago, including a 3-0 Test series win over France in June, Mortlock believes the Wallabies can beat the All Blacks for the first time since August 2011, and for the first time in Sydney since July 2008.

Mortlock, for all his respect for the All Blacks, even believes the Wallabies could win the Bledisloe Cup.

The 37-year-old has not forgotten his own satisfaction in lifting the Bledisloe Cup in 2002.

“I didn’t think I wouldn’t get a chance to grab hold of it again,” he said. “But I’m pretty damn excited that this year is hopefully the year we get it back.”

Mortlock says the impact of a packed crowd at ANZ Stadium containing mostly Wallabies supporters should not be underestimated – as he says the Super Rugby final showed.

“Watching the Crusaders lineout struggle to get their calls in is a great indicator the crowd is engrossed in the game, contributing to the cauldron [atmosphere],” he said. “When you are playing before a home crowd when they are that into the game, it’s a massive boost. That is what it should be. We are talking Test rugby … Bledisloe Cup. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.”