Steve Deane: A chance to shrug off the inferiority complex

Darren Lockyer and Billy Slater (pictured) are being rested for the match. Photo / Supplied

The chance to end a lifetime of subjugation. Make that several lifetimes. That's what the Kiwis are playing for as they take on the Kangaroos twice in the next seven days.

Herald columnist Chris Rattue this week warned against the perils of anything resembling confidence where the Kiwis are concerned.

Expectation and belief, Rattue rightly pointed out, had only ever been the harbinger of disaster and embarrassment for league.

Best to simply accept that an inevitable thrashing is on its way and then be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't arrive.

That's the default setting for Kiwis fans. And given a run of just one win (albeit a World Cup final) in our past 11 matches over five years against Australia, it's certainly debatable whether now is a wise time to raise our beaten down hopes.

It is, however, a debate worth having.

If - as this nation's horribly fatalistic view of rugby World Cups suggests - teams should be judged by their efforts in big tournaments, then the Kiwis are on the verge of casting off the yoke of oppression.

This year's Four Nations is the fifth international league tournament in the past six years (none was held in 2007). The Kiwis have won two of the past four (2005 Tri-Nations, 2008 World Cup) and lost in extra time (2006 Tri-Nations) of another. If they win in Brisbane next week, that record will be three out of five.

One might be a fluke. Two could even be considered good fortune. But three tournament wins out of five? No one gets that lucky. Three out of five would leave no room for doubt.

That's the prize on offer over the next seven days for the Kiwis - the chance to erase doubt, to prove that there is substance to the growing belief that this country has become Australia's equal in the 13-man code.

But it won't be easy. With Tim Sheens resting Darren Lockyer and Billy Slater from an already injury-depleted Australian line-up, the Kiwis have a golden chance to draw first blood in Auckland tonight.

Should they fail against what is effectively the Aussie second string, it's hard to see how the Kiwis could bounce back in Brisbane next week.

But, should the Kiwis win tonight, they'll then be up against the weight of history. The Kiwis haven't had consecutive victories over Australia since winning a one-off test at North Harbour Stadium in 1997, followed by the 1998 Anzac test at the same venue. The last time they beat Australia twice in a row in the same series was 1953.

That's half a century of history just sitting there waiting to be erased. If the Kiwis can do it, then maybe it really will be time to do the same thing to our inferiority complex.