Updates from the first Test between Australia and New ZealandKick off time at Accor Stadium in Sydney is 3:45pm AESTAny thoughts? Email Jonathan
The Wallabies have been give Buckley’s chance of regaining the Bledisloe Cup. But as Angus Fontaine writes, that might not be an entirely lost cause.
This most Australian of phrases traditionally conveys a state beyond hopelessness but closer inspection shows convict William Buckley, who escaped in 1803 and was given up for dead, actually defied the grim predictions to survive 30 years in the wild.
The second-half absence of Bell and lock Nick Frost hurt the Wallabies, with scrum veterans Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper, in his record-equalling 139th Test, badly exposed in defence and discipline. Even powerhouse winger Marika Koroibete, 32, was made to look ordinary, forced into touch at full tilt and guilty of fumbles and missed tackles.
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