Australian rugby fans awoke yesterday trying to comprehend how the Wallabies' Eden Park hoodoo will stretch into a 24th year.
And they didn't really want to talk about it.
Channel Seven's morning sports news reported the cricket, the golf, the league, the AFL. And then there was time for onefinal item.
"And of course, the Aussies went down to the All Blacks last night," the newsreader informed viewers with a funereal tone.
That was it. No score, no pictures, no quotes. Cut to the infomercials.
In the Sydney papers, Newcastle league coach Brian Smith's sudden switch to the Roosters dominated the back pages.
Inside, the Sun-Herald's lead headline summed up coach Robbie Deans' anguish: "Frustrated Deans rues another one that got away."
Rugby writer Greg Growden's opening line was similarly exasperated: "The Wallabies blew it - big time."
Having dominated the opening 20 minutes, this was their best chance to break their Auckland losing streak, he wrote. "The Wallabies cannot blame anyone but themselves for once again leaving Auckland with nothing ... they had many chances to get well ahead of a committed but far from impressive New Zealand outfit, only to constantly lose possession in the opposition quarter."
The much-discussed drought at Eden Park affected the Wallabies, he wrote. "For the umpteenth time since 1986, the Wallabies showed they are not yet mentally up to beating the All Blacks on home soil. They are too easily intimidated. The skills and fitness have improved in the past year but the killer instinct is not there."
The Sunday Telegraph focused on No 12 Berrick Barnes' blunder which could have given the Wallabies a 17-3 lead. "A dummy-ache for off-colour Berrick," the lead headline said of Barnes' pass which cannoned off George Smith's head instead of finding a try-bound Stirling Mortlock.
Said Barnes: "If I could have that moment again, I would have passed it. It's gone and I can't bring it back."
Yes, it's gone, and Wallabies fans want to forget it as soon as possible.
