Once the man with the plan in the All Blacks camp, Australia coach Joe Schmidt will look to land a decisive blow against his home nation in a pivotal Rugby Championship at Eden Park on Saturday.

The Wallabies lead the tournament by a point, giving Schmidt the chance to breathe life into a rivalry deadened by decades of New Zealand dominance.

With the All Blacks still reeling from a record defeat by South Africa, and the Bledisloe Cup also on the line, the stakes have arguably never been so high in a trans-Tasman test since the 2015 World Cup final.

As a selector, strategist and assistant coach under former All Blacks boss Ian Foster, Schmidt once played a part in prolonging Australia's "Bledis-woe".

The duo combined to deliver back-to-back Rugby Championships in 2022-23 and extend New Zealand's reign over the Bledisloe Cup, the annual series contested with Australia, to 21 years.

Foster's successor Scott Robertson retained the Cup in 2024, Schmidt's first season with the Wallabies, and needs only to win at Eden Park to lock the trophy away for another year.

From where Schmidt sits, that carrot alone will have the All Blacks breathing fire on Saturday.

"Having coached a number of them, I know how dangerous they can be," Schmidt told a press conference on Thursday.

"I think if you just about gave them a choice, they'd take the Bledisloe over the Rugby Championship. It is very much just the tradition of it."

Having lost their last nine matches to New Zealand, history is very much against a Wallabies breakthrough at Eden Park.

Three weeks ago Robertson's team beat South Africa 24-17 in a clash of the world's top two nations, extending their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 51 matches, the longest such streak at a single venue in test rugby.

The last time the All Blacks lost at the stadium was 1994 when France scored the "try from the end of the world" to claim a famous 23-20 win.

MILLSTONES AND MILESTONES

Finding an Australian win over the hosts at Eden Park means digging deeper to 1986 when the Andrew Slack-captained visitors won 22-9.

That long losing streak has been a millstone around the necks of visiting Australian teams but Schmidt's Wallabies may be better than their predecessors at ignoring history.

Just over a month ago they claimed a first victory at Ellis Park since 1963 with a stunning 38-22 win over world champions South Africa.

If the Wallabies shrug the Eden Park monkey off their backs, it will be without the muscle of injured loose forward Rob Valetini and lock Will Skelton, who will not return from France until the final test in Perth a week later.

They will likely need a far better start than most of their Rugby Championship matches to give 36-year-old prop James Slipper a win in his milestone 150th test.

With home captain Scott Barrett ruled out with a shoulder problem, New Zealand will rely on Ardie Savea to again lead from the front as captain, carrier and ball-poaching menace.

Making only four changes to his starting 15, with two injury-enforced, Robertson is backing his men to come good after a solemn review of the Springboks meltdown.

Robertson will hope his trust is not misplaced, with defeat likely to bring a damaging loss of faith in his leadership.

Wallabies coach Schmidt eyes Eden Park ambush against home nation