The surprising numbers offering Wallabies fans hope ahead of Bledisloe Cup opener

Both the Wallabies and All Blacks enter this year's Bledisloe Cup series facing serious questions about their trajectory under new coaching teams.

Australia and New Zealand are both 1-3 and out of Rugby Championship title contention with two rounds to play.

South Africa and Argentina will duke it out instead while the trans-Tasman rivals resume their recently one-sided Bledisloe battle.

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Both nations are licking their wounds from painful losses that had rugby historians dusting off their record books.

Australia's scarcely believable 67-27 Pumas mauling came after Joe Schmidt's side had led 20-3 after 30 minutes in the Santa Fe sun.

It was the most points ever conceded by the Wallabies in a Test and was the second heaviest ever loss by margin.

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The All Blacks, meanwhile, fell 18-12 to the Springboks in Cape Town.

It was South Africa's fourth straight win over their greatest foe - the first time they had achieved that feat since 1949.

With all this in mind, Wide World of Sports enlisted the help of Stan Sport's stats guru Kate Lorimer to look at how number crunching history might help inform what happens next.

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How have the Wallabies responded to crushing defeats?

Australia's Santa Fe shellacking was the 16th time they had lost by 30 points or more, with the first a 38-8 loss to a New Zealand XV at the Sydney Showground in 1924.

The worst margin of defeat was against the Springboks at Ellis Park - a 53-8 hammering in 2008.

Robbie Deans was coach and Stirling Mortlock captain that day.

But, somewhat surprisingly, the Wallabies have a track record of bouncing back strongly to 30+ drubbings.

Australia are historically 9-6 in the next game, providing some hope for long-suffering fans pondering whether to make the pilgrimage to Sydney Olympic Park on September 21.

Five of those six next game losses have come against New Zealand, however, with the other coming against Michael Cheika's Argentina in Sydney last year.

How did Joe Schmidt's Ireland teams react to ugly losses?

The former schoolteacher is still revered in Ireland for his wildly successful 2013-19 tenure.

Schmidt's Ireland record reads 55 wins, 20 losses and a draw for a 72.37 per cent strike rate.

He won three Six Nations titles including the 2018 Grand Slam - for which he was crowned world coach of the year.

Schmidt also led Ireland to their first two victories over his native New Zealand.

His Ireland teams only lost three times by 20 points or more so the 67-27 Argentina annihilation will feel very unfamiliar.

The worst losses were 43-20 against the Pumas in a 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, 57-15 against Eddie Jones' England in 2019 and 46-14 against the All Blacks in a 2019 World Cup quarter-final.

That defeat in Japan ended his Ireland tenure.

It's a small sample size, but Schmidt would appear a quick learner.

Ireland rebounded from their World Cup disappointment to draw 16-16 with Wales in 2016 and in 2019 got back in the winner's circle with a 22-17 triumph against Wales.

What is New Zealand's worst result in the Rugby Championship?

The All Blacks are 1-3 after splitting their home Tests against Argentina and then losing twice away to South Africa.

Their worst tournament was in 1998 - then the Tri Nations - when they lost all four games against the Wallabies and Springboks.

The last time they lost three games in a single campaign was under Graham Henry in 2009 when they finished with a 3-3 record.

That year they also came to Sydney off the back of consecutive losses in South Africa (Durban and Bloemfontein), and won 19-18 thanks to Dan Carter's late penalty.

The only time the All Blacks have lost three consecutive Rugby Championship games in a single campaign was 1998.

New Zealand also lost three in a row across 2004-05.

How the Wallabies and All Blacks lined up for Bledisloe I last year

WALLABIES (15-1): Andrew Kellaway, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jordan Petaia, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Carter Gordon, Tate McDermott, Rob Valetini, Tom Hooper, Jed Holloway, Will Skelton, Nick Frost, Allan Alaalatoa (c), Dave Porecki, Angus Bell

Reserves: Jordan Uelese, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Richie Arnold, Rob Leota, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Izaia Perese

ALL BLACKS (15-1): Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Telea, Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith, Ardie Savea (c), Dalton Papali'i, Shannon Frizell, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot

Reserves: Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Nepo Laulala, Sam Whitelock, Luke Jacobson, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown, Caleb Clarke