Rugby Union · Wallabies · Bledisloe Cup
Heading into the All Blacks. Kiss still unbeaten. Sydney asks for 2002 again.
Bledisloe II — Wallabies vs All Blacks, Saturday 17 October 2026, Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, kick-off 3:45pm AEDT. Wallabies sit 6th after Perth 42–38 over the Springboks. Les Kiss remains unbeaten as head coach. Desk colour below is Anthony’s late-run hope — labelled, not a prediction.
The board first. After beating South Africa 42–38 in Perth on Sunday 27 September, Australia moved to 6th in the World Rugby men’s rankings on 85.55 points — just 0.13 behind England in 5th (85.68). Top four: South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, France. Les Kiss’s Wallabies stay unbeaten under him (Sky: five Tests after Perth). Sources: RUCK; Planet Rugby; Wales Online / World Rugby confirm; Sky; AFP.
Desk colour / Anthony’s take — hope, not invented fact: Heading into the All Blacks with Kiss still undefeated so far. Australia will oust England from the top five if they beat New Zealand — the ranking maths after Perth leaves only 0.13 between 5th and 6th, and a win over the No. 2 side is the path the desk wants to see. Bledisloe in Sydney; recent history does not bode well. Harken back to the last time the Wallabies held the Cup: 2002, Australia 16–14, Matt Burke’s penalty after the siren. That feeling can return. Kiss the man to do it, with the Lonergans at the spearhead. This is Anthony’s take and wish from the late run — let’s see how it turns out.
The fixture — Sydney, 17 October
Public fixture: Wallabies v All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, Saturday 17 October 2026, kick-off 3:45pm AEDT. Quadruple-header day: Wallaroos v Scotland 12:00pm; Australia Men’s Sevens v Fiji 2:05pm; Australia Women’s Sevens v New Zealand 2:25pm; then the Bledisloe. Bledisloe I is earlier at Eden Park, Auckland (Saturday 10 October) — this item is the Sydney home Test. Sources: Accor Stadium; Rugby Australia / wallabies.rugby; SOPA; Planet Rugby schedule.
Rankings after Perth — 6th, breathing on England
Confirmed post-Perth board (published ~28 September): 1 South Africa 93.09 · 2 New Zealand 91.15 · 3 Ireland 88.08 · 4 France 87.43 · 5 England 85.68 · 6 Australia 85.55 (+2.00 from the Springboks win; leapfrogged Scotland) · 7 Scotland 84.78. Australia’s Perth win was by four points; a 15+ margin would already have pushed them above England — the late Springboks chase kept them 0.13 short. Sources: RUCK; Planet Rugby; rugbybypass; Wales Online.
Kiss unbeaten — then the black jersey
Les Kiss remains unbeaten as Wallabies head coach after the Perth hang-on — AFP and Sky put the ledger at five Tests since he replaced Joe Schmidt. The All Blacks are next on the calendar. That unbeaten line is confirmed reporting; anything about how Sydney ends is not. Sources: AFP / France24; Sky Sports; ESPN.
2002 — Burke after the siren
Last time the Wallabies held the Bledisloe Cup: 2002. Australia beat New Zealand 16–14 in Sydney; Matt Burke slotted the penalty in the final seconds / after the siren to retain the Cup. Sporting News and period match reports (BBC, Irish Examiner) confirm the scoreline and Burke’s kick. New Zealand have held the Cup in the years since. Sources: BBC Sport; Irish Examiner; Sporting News; World Rugby Bledisloe facts.
Spearhead — desk hope on the Lonergans
Confirmed: Ryan Lonergan is in Kiss’s Bledisloe-series squad and was the Wallabies’ points engine in Perth (4 conversions, 3 penalties — 17 points). Desk colour: Anthony’s hope puts “the Lonergans” at the spearhead under Kiss — labelled wish from the late run, not a selection claim beyond Ryan’s confirmed squad place and Perth haul. Sources for the confirmed bits: rugby.com.au squad update; BBC / Sky Perth wrap.
What this item is not
No invented scoreline for Eden Park or Sydney. No claim Australia have already climbed into the top five. No rewrite of All Blacks recent dominance as anything other than recent history that “doesn’t bode well” — desk framing. Ranking “oust England if they beat NZ” is Anthony’s desk hope, grounded in the verified 0.13 gap after Perth, not a published World Rugby projection for this fixture. Burke 16–14 / 2002 is historical fact; “that feeling can return” is hope.
Sources: RUCK (AU 6th 85.55, EN 5th 85.68, top 10); Planet Rugby rankings; Wales Online / World Rugby confirm; Accor Stadium (17 Oct 2026, 3:45pm, quadruple-header); wallabies.rugby; Planet Rugby Bledisloe schedule / squad; BBC 2002 Burke 16–14; Sporting News (last held 2002); AFP / France24 (Kiss unbeaten); Sky Sports Perth wrap; rugby.com.au (Bledisloe squad). Desk colour paragraphs are Anthony Easton’s labelled hope. If it is not confirmed, it is not on this page as fact.