Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, well aware his side haven't won at Eden Park since 1986, has planned a left-field approach to breaking the curse next weekend; from Sunday he and his side will be based at Waiheke Island - home to only two rugby fields.
The All Blacks, who have held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003, play the Wallabies at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Saturday before the old enemy make the trip over the ditch in the return match.
Cheika, a self-made millionaire through his clothing businesses, isn't scared to go against the prevailing fashion in order to gain an advantage – although this one is likely to raise eyebrows as usually the only sightings of wallabies on islands in the Hauraki Gulf are the small-or mid-sized macropod variety closely related to the kangaroo.
International rugby teams are generally creatures of habit and like visiting the same hotels – the All Blacks are sticking with the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney's plush Double Bay despite the Spygate controversy of two years ago – but Cheika, obviously eager to try something very different, is changing things up in a big way with a stint from Sunday to Thursday on Waiheke, a 35-minute ferry journey from Auckland's CBD, and a place which possesses only one five-star hotel. It's understood that on Thursday they will travel to an inner-city hotel.
![Waiheke Island. Photo / Herald Archive](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/KVUXWXGKUBUYOF34X7GZ7U4VKE.jpg?auth=af29d8063fa891cab6843fe7138d1709bd08f9d059c652845fda05c14c0488b3&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)