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All Blacks star Ben Smith adamant they were lucky to win Bledisloe last year

August 13, 2018

The star fullback says memories of the “lucky” Bledisloe Cup win in Dunedin last year is banishing any complacency in the All Blacks.

The All Blacks felt like they were lucky in last year’s Bledisloe Cup, meaning there is no complacency in their camp ahead of the first Test against the Wallabies in Sydney.

Ben Smith said the All Blacks’ dominant record over their trans-Tasman rivals since 2002, when the Wallabies last held the Bledisloe, was “irrelevant”, and pointed instead to the hard-fought series last year as a true indication of the difference between the two sides.

The All Blacks were particularly fortunate to win the second Test in Dunedin, according to Smith.

In that match, Australia led by 17 points early before Beauden Barrett finished off a brilliant team try in the dying minutes to clinch a 35-29 win that retained the Bledisloe.

“(Last year) all three were tight games, lucky that second one went our way otherwise it (the series) could have been a bit different,” Smith said.

“We know the threats they’ve got across the park and we’re aware of what sort of team we’re up against come Saturday, it’s going to be a good Aussie team.”

While Smith felt they were lucky last year, he was reluctant to weight in to who was favourites this year after coach Steve Hansen, dubbed the Wallabies favourites after their 23-18 win over the All Blacks in the third Test last year.

“I’m not sure what Steve was meaning by that (saying the Wallabies were favourites),” Smith said.

“He was probably raising awareness of how good this Australian team is and we as players know that.”

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