The Bledisloe Cup arrives at Sydney Airport last night ahead of the Wallabies v All Blacks clash at ANZ Stadium on Saturday August 17th – Photo: Steve Christo/Destination NSW

by Paul Cook –

The cup that drives Australian rugby passion and desire beyond perhaps even that of the William Webb Ellis trophy, has landed  in the Great Southern Land ahead of the first battle for it’s ownership in 2013 between the Wallabies and the All Blacks. It’s been 11 long years since it was in Australian hands, George Gregan the last captain to hold the famous piece of silverware aloft after a drawn series meant the Wallabies retained possession having won it outright the year before.

It’s place in the ARU’s trophy cabinet is long overdue.

Eleven long years: George Gregan with the famous Cup back in 2002

These days, it is competed for over three – sometimes four – matches between the cross-Tasman rivals but what makes this year’s clashes so compelling is that the first two contests in Sydney and Wellington will also be the first two games for Australia under new head coach Ewen McKenzie.

Starting your international head coaching career against the top ranked side in the world may be a daunting prospect for some but refreshingly, McKenzie sees it as a unique opportunity and not one to be cowed by.

“In a perverse way, I’m quite happy with the start,” he admitted at the press conference to announce his first squad. “I relish the opportunity to take on the All Blacks, I’ve had lots of encounters as a player and as an assistant coach and I’m really looking forward to it. When you tackle the team that everyone recognises as the number one side, it’s your biggest opportunity to go forward.”

The fact that a new dawn for Australian rugby could be ushered in by the breaking of a long held dominance by their arch rivals has not been lost on the former Wallaby prop. “We’ve got two games against them in a row in seven days so the Bledisloe Cup is right there,” he said. “You can do a lot in seven days and you can change the shape of a lot of things if you get it right so there’s a great opportunity there. There are moments in time and in sport where you can really make a difference and the way it’s structured, we’ll have that moment in the Rugby Championship and in the Bledisloe Cup. We’ll see what we can do.”

The Cup itself arrived in Sydney from Wellington last night and will be putting in an appearance at a host of themed events as a part of this year’s second annual Bledisloe Cup Festival. It is on display tomorrow at the Museum of Sydney for the official Festival launch from 11.30am before making its way around local Schools and Rugby Clubs in Sydney on Saturday as a part of the Bledisloe Cup Round weekend.