Rugby Union

Eden Park humbling to test Wallabies' resolve

By Murray Wenzel

Oct 11, 2026

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto of Australia — Lukhan Salakaia-Loto says Australia will look to bounce back after defeat to the All Blacks -AAP Image

Whatever belief the Wallabies had built in Les Kiss's winning start will be tested but lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto insists another Eden Park humbling won't burst their bubble.

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Australia scored first then threatened to lead again early in the second half before New Zealand scored 26-straight points and blew the Wallabies out 50-19 at Eden Park.

The win, ahead of Sydney's rematch on Saturday, maintained New Zealand's 23-year hold on the Bledisloe Cup and was their 12th-straight win against the Wallabies.

Victory also extended the All Blacks' unbeaten run at the Auckland stadium to 54 games, since 1994.

"When you give the ABs that much ball and that much ruck speed, it's hard to beat them when you're on the back foot like that," Salakaia-Loto, who played the entire game, said.

"We understand that. They're a tough, tough outfit, but we go back home, get to regroup, prepare like we did this week.

"We're back in our backyard and we're looking to square that up."

The Wallabies had beaten South Africa two weeks ago to make it six games unbeaten - five of them under new coach Kiss - for the first time in nine years.

"Our belief isn't built just based on wins," the lock, now back and established in the side after missing squad selections under previous coach Joe Schmidt, said.

"Our belief is built through connection throughout the group and our preparation that we do day in, day out.

"Our confidence isn't shot at all. We get to have another crack at them next week back in Sydney, so we're looking forward to that."

The side's lineout has improved drastically and, for the most part, fired again even without injured lock Josh Canham in Auckland.

But a costly obstruction as the Wallabies, trailing 17-14 just after halftime, went to a maul after a five-metre lineout, will be marked down as a key turning point.

They were also comprehensively beaten in the air, with All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard's pinpoint bombs creating uncertainty among Australia's catchers.

"There were some big moments that didn't go our way and we hurt ourselves," Salakaia-Loto said.

"So we've only got ourselves to blame, but we know that we fix that up and we take those opportunities like we did in the first half, we go a long way to doing the things that we want to do."