Bledisloe Cup win priority for Wallabies

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill has said that the Wallabies priority in 2012 will be winning the Bledisloe Cup, with the All Blacks holding the trophy since 2003.

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The Wallabies won the Investec Tri Nations last year courtesy of a 25-20 win over the All Blacks in Brisbane, breaking a drought without that title stretching back to 2001.

Robbie Deans and his troops defeated Wales to finish third at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and have maintained their position as the second ranked nation.

However the World Champions have a firm grip on the number one ranking, as well as the mantle of supreme team in the trans-Tasman battle, but O’Neill said playing the best team had its advantages.

"I've said this in a very genuine sense that the gold standard in rugby is the All Blacks,” the ARU boss said.

"The benefit of playing them a lot is that you are playing the number one team in the world a lot, but if you beat them you are likely to be the number one team."

However he was blunt when asked what was the key barometer for the Wallabies in 2012.

"Bledisloe Cup, haven't won it for 10 years. Last time we won it was 2002. It's a must do,"

"We came out of New Zealand disappointed. I don't want to make any more Kiwis happy.

"They've had a great four years. They've had a great 10 years of retaining the Bledisloe."

"I would put it (winning the Bledisloe) at the top of the list.

"It's not to diminish beating Wales (in a three-test series in June), It's not to diminish winning The Rugby Championship. I suspect if we win the Bledisloe, it is likely we will win the Rugby Championship.

"It's unacceptable that we have gone 10 years without winning the Bledisloe. It will be number one versus number two.”

He said there was a feeling of the unknown for many of the Wallabies, saying that a decade gap had seen the change of a playing roster.

"There's a generation of players who never won a Bledisloe," O'Neill said.

"A group of young Queenslanders last year won Super Rugby and then won a Tri-Nations. They're going 'how good is this?' They're hungry for it. It would be a significant achievement to beat the All Blacks off the back of their World Cup victory last year."