Gregan’s rally cry to Australia as inspiration joins team in Auckland

Exclusive: George Gregan was the last Wallabies captain to hold the Bledisloe Cup aloft.

That was in 2002, when Eminem was topping the charts and Matt Burke slotted a penalty after the siren in a nail-biting 16-14 win at Stadium Australia.

Burke is with the Wallabies again this week, covering their movements in Auckland for Nine and Stan Sport.

And Gregan also remains deeply connected to the team he played 139 Tests for and provided some of the most iconic moments in trans-Tasman rugby history.

Joe Schmidt invited he and Nathan Sharpe into Wallabies camp last year and the great halfback - not prone to fake praise - has a genuine belief that they can break a 40-year hoodoo at Eden Park on Saturday.

“They could do it,” Gregan told nine.com.au during a trip to Sydney with the Global Rugby Players Foundation, for whom he is chairman.

“Yeah, of course they could. But it’s hard. You’ve got to be really on point, you’ve got to be really accurate. With sport, nothing surprises me.

Read more

Gregan’s eye-popping comparison to late-blooming Wallabies gun

“Look at Newcastle in rugby league (making a shock run to the NRL grand final). Look at the poor old Fremantle Dockers. Look at Wharfie Time, four minutes to go (before crumbling against the Brisbane Lions in the AFL grand final). That’s sport.

“You’ve just got to put yourself in position for big match, big moment execution. What I’ve seen from this group is they’re putting themselves in those positions - and they’re now converting (five wins and a draw in their last six Tests).

“They’ve done that home and away, but it’s a big effort. The All Blacks, they’ve lost three on the bounce. They don’t like that, and they’re very proud of that record they have there. But yeah, why not?”

Gregan has known Les Kiss for a very long time.

After watching him play as a skinny rugby league winger, Gregan was suddenly in the enemy camp as Kiss started his rugby coaching journey as a Springboks defence guru in 2001-02.

Kiss is yet to win anything of note as a head coach but Gregan says he earned the job on merit.

“This group’s been building something, and Les has got a really good group. He’s a carer, and he’s a good coach, and he’s a competitive soul, which is good. It’s very Australian, which is nice. You’re not born a championship-winning coach,” he said.

“You’ve got to earn it, and it’s the right time, right place. They’ve got a nice bit of winning momentum at the moment, but there’ll be dips. He’s a really good learner, and I’ve really liked the language and what I’ve seen of how they’re playing.

“They’ve just added a little bit. There’s that real intent to play and work hard for each other. He uses that expression a lot, just playing backyard footy.

“Everyone talks about heads up footy, it’s actually just playing ‘where’s the space ball.’ And the space isn’t always wide, it might be through.”

The All Blacks are well rested after losing their series 3-1 to South Africa while the Wallabies stunned a second-string Springboks side 42-38 a fortnight ago despite losing four players to late yellow cards.

“When they were down to 11 men - that just becomes working hard, problem-solving on the run. There’s no, there’s no script for that. There’s no system for it,” Gregan said.

“It’s getting back, communicating, spacing, and then just working really, really hard, which was good to see, and they referenced that after the game.

“So the language coming out of that team is very good, but they’ve still got a lot of challenges ahead. Yes, they beat the No.1 team in the world at the moment. There were 13 changes in that Springboks team, but it’s still an amazing team.”

The last Wallabies team to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park was the 1986 side led by Alan Jones and Andrew Slack.

Even the great teams Gregan was a part of couldn’t do it.

“We haven’t won there in a long time. That’s something to chase, and this group’s got a history of making their own history. They did it last year in Johannesburg (breaking a 62-year hoodoo at Ellis Park), so why not?”

Gregan was on the sidelines that day working for SuperSport.

The Wallabies trailed 22-0 at halftime before an incredible comeback and a 38-22 win over the Springboks.

“It’s a talented group of players who are hungry. You see it,” the 1999 Rugby World Cup winner said.

“They want more experiences like what they had in Jo’burg, more of what they had in Perth (last month), Twickenham as well (42-37 win over England in 2024).”

The Wallabies certainly won’t be lacking for inspiration after Nathan Charles joined them at Friday’s captain’s run at Eden Park.

The former Wallabies hooker last week shared his motor neurone disease diagnosis in an emotional interview with Justin Harrison.

As for the All Blacks?

Well, they are highly motivated too.

Gregan’s old sparring partner Richie McCaw said Australia’s hot form would be helpful to New Zealand coach Dave Rennie.

“Realising that ‘oh, it’s not going to just be a turn up and get the job done,’ you know, you’re going to have to do it right,” the legendary ex-All Blacks captain told nine.com.au.

“The Wallabies can take a bit of confidence into this. They can obviously play some good footy and score some tries. No matter what year it is, or where the Bledisloe Cup’s been for the last while, it’s always a match you need to be right for.”

Stan Sport’s pre-game coverage kicks off at 4pm AEDT.

Wallabies (15-1): Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Isaac Henry, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Ben Donaldson, Ryan Lonergan, Harry Wilson (c), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Jeremy Williams, Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell

Reserves: Josh Nasser, Aidan Ross, Massimo De Lutiis, Lachlan Shaw, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tate McDermott, Declan Meredith, Harry Potter

All Blacks (15-1): Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Leroy Carter, Damian McKenzie, Cam Roigard, Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord, Scott Barrett, Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor (c), Ethan de Groot

Reserves: Asafo Aumua, George Bower, Pasilio Tosi, Shannon Frizell, Anton Segner, Kyle Preston, Rieko Ioane, Josh Moorby

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Watch the Wallabies vs All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup. Add the Stan Sport package to watch rugby live and on demand with no ad-breaks in play