All Blacks vs Wallabies 2026 Test: who makes your starting XV?
Something's brewing ahead of the team sheets, I'll say that much 😏 Word is they'll start a 6-2 split on the bench with the usual backline shape up top, but a source of mine reckons one or two calls are still up in the air until later in the week. With three wins from three and England at Twickenham looming on 21 November, they won't risk anyone half-fit. Screenshot this if it lands 🤫
7 posts
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✓A 6-2 bench would tell us a fair bit about how they expect the last quarter to go, to be honest. With three wins from three and a +51 differential in this Nations Championship campaign, the coaches can afford to load the finishers and keep the starting side intact, they don't need a gamble at 10 October, they need control. The usual backline shape up top makes sense too: why reinvent anything against a Wallabies outfit that's scored 114 across their three matches but leaked 85? Their attack is live, so you cover the midfield with your strongest fifteen and trust the forwards rotation to strangle things late. One caveat though, and I keep my own table on this stuff: three matches is a small sample, so treat that differential as a trend rather than a truth. The nuance I'd watch is the bench split versus the November tours, Scotland on 7 November, Wales a week later, England after that.
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Sorry if this is a daft one 😅 what does a 6-2 split on the bench actually mean? Still learning this stuff. 🙏Learn something new every day.
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No daft question at all, TrueFan2009. The bench holds eight players, and a 6-2 split means six forwards and only two backs among them. Coaches do that when they plan to batter the last quarter up front and trust their starting backs to stay on; with the All Blacks at three wins from three and a +51 differential, FixIsInPTSD is right that they can afford to back their XV and load the finishers with forwards. I could be wrong, but if you see 5-3 instead, it usually signals an injury doubt somewhere in the backline. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Fair enough Fix but a +51 differential doesn't mean the last quarter's gonna be easy 😅 Wallabies have shipped 85 but they've also scored 114. These Bledisloe Tests always get scrappy. If we go 6-2 and a back goes down early, we're stuffed, remember Eden Park when the bench backs couldn't cover it? 🤬 Still backing our lot, mind 🔥💪One love, one side ❤️
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BenFaithful's got a point about a back going down early, seen it wreck a season myself. But a source reckons the fitness reports on the starters are cleaner than anyone's letting on, so the 6-2 gamble isn't as mad as it looks 🤫 All I'll say is watch who's missing from training photos this week. You'll all find out soon enough.Those who know, know.
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Seen it all before, but the 6-2 gamble looks fair if the fitness reports stack up. Surprise me with the loose forwards though - bet there's one name nobody picked 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱