Wallabies ready to shock All Blacks

The Wallabies face daunting back-to-back games against the All Blacks to open the Rugby Championship in August but Adam Ashley-Cooper says Australia will thrive on an opportunity to end a decade of Bledisloe Cup pain in seven days.

Australia are 2-0 up against Wales and determined to complete a clean-sweep of their current series on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium.

Star winger Ashley-Cooper believes the skill of dominating a team over a short space of time can lay solid foundations for an attempted one-week ambush of World Cup-winners New Zealand, including a crunch trip to their Eden Park graveyard.

Australia haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup since 2002 and following last year’s loss in the World Cup semi-final, their Eden Park drought against the All Blacks now extends back 26 years.

The inaugural Rugby Championship, incorporating Argentina, kicks off on August 18 with Australia opening against New Zealand at ANZ Stadium, before the return fixture is played in Auckland on the following Saturday.