Hooper dismisses Bledisloe venue curse

Michael Hooper's struggle to remember when the Wallabies last beat the All Blacks at Eden Park betrays how much he cares about it.

Not a bit.

The Australian skipper thought their most recent success over New Zealand in Auckland came in 1982.

Then he guessed 1984, before being itold by journalists it was 1986.

"So that's how much attention I'm paying to that stuff," he said a day out from the second Bledisloe Cup Test.

Were he paying more attention, he'd have seen the usual mocking media stories wheeled out by the Kiwis this week.

The various world leaders in 1986 got its annual run, along with what song sat on top of the charts.

"As simple and as cliched as it sounds, we're thinking about tomorrow night," said Hooper, shutting down talk of an Eden Park hoodoo in a similar manner to teammates this week.

Winger Jack Maddocks took a light-hearted approach to the subject.

He's never played a Test at Eden Park but tasted success in his first appearance there 10 weeks ago, for the Melbourne Rebels against the Blues.

"I don't really feel that sort of stuff. It's a fresh start for me. I won with the Rebels this year, so what hoodoo?"

New Zealand are unbeaten in their past 41 Tests against all-comers at Eden Park, since 1994.

Victory on Saturday would be their 18th straight trans-Tasman triumph there.

It would be a world record, lifting that combination of teams and city one clear of the 17-match winning streak New Zealand enjoy over Wales in Cardiff.

MOST SUCCESSFUL CITY/OPPONENT COMBINATIONS

17 - NZ over Australia in Auckland (1986-)

17 - NZ over Wales in Cardiff (1963-)

14 - England over Scotland in London (1991-)

13 - France over Ireland in Paris (1974-98)

12 - France over Scotland in Paris (1971-93)