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Bledisloe Cup series history beckons for All Blacks in Yokohama on Saturday
Aaron Goile
08:09, Oct 24 2018
The prized silverware may already be bagged, but the All Blacks have the chance to make Bledisloe Cup history in their contest against the Wallabies in Japan on Saturday.
After winning 38-13 in Sydney and 40-12 in Auckland on successive weekends in August, New Zealand made the famous trophy theirs for a 16th straight season, ensuring a dead rubber on neutral turf at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
But, after a two-week break and in their opening assignment of a five-test northern tour, another dominant showing against their struggling trans-Tasman neighbours can push the All Blacks' class of 2018 into the record books in a variety of stats columns.
BIGGEST SERIES POINTS DIFFERENTIAL
+81, All Blacks, 2016
+71, All Blacks, 1972
+53 All Blacks, 2018 (third)
New Zealand can record the most dominant series triumph in history if they can better their 25-point and 28-point victories from the opening two tests and win this one by 29.
Currently the record for biggest points differential in a Bledisloe series stands at +81, achieved just two years ago in the All Blacks' 3-0 clean sweep, where they won 42-8 in Sydney, 29-9 in Wellington and 37-10 in Auckland.
The 1972 side had a +71 record from their series on home soil (29-6 in Wellington, 30-17 in Christchurch and 38-3 in Auckland), while this year's +53 already ranks third-best.
New Zealand fill the top 29 spots on the list, with Australia's best effort being the +17 they have twice managed, in their 2-1 series win in 1980 and their 3-0 sweep in 1998.
MOST TEAM POINTS IN SERIES
116, All Blacks, 2010 (4 games)
115, All Blacks, 2013 (3 games)
78, All Blacks, 2018 (15th-equal)
In a similar vein, the All Blacks are in with a shout of racking up the most points in a Bledisloe series.
Neatly, to break new territory they need to score 39 - nestled exactly between the 38 and 40 they notched in the August fixtures.
The 2010 side hold the record, with 116, though that was from four games. The 115 scored in 2013 came from three - 47-29 in Sydney, 27-16 in Wellington and 41-33 in Dunedin.
MOST TEAM TRIES IN SERIES
16, All Blacks, 1972 (3 games)
16, All Blacks, 2016 (3 games)
12, All Blacks, 2018 (sixth-equal)
With five more on Saturday, New Zealand would break new ground for tries scored in a Bledisloe series.
After dotting down six times at both ANZ Stadium and Eden Park, their 12 this year already ranks sixth-equal on the charts.
In 2008 and 2010 the All Blacks scored 13 and 14 respectively, but from four matches. Last year's side crossed for 15 in three games, while it's also in three-game series where the record stands - a tie between those 1972 and 2016 units.
MOST INDIVIDUAL POINTS IN SERIES
54, Dan Carter, All Blacks, 2009 (3 games)
52, Dan Carter, All Blacks, 2012 (3 games)
43, Beauden Barrett, All Blacks, 2018 (sixth-equal)
MOST INDIVIDUAL TRIES IN SERIES
5, Beauden Barrett, All Blacks, 2018 (2 games)
5, Ben Smith, All Blacks, 2013 (3 games)
All Blacks first five-eighth Beauden Barrett requires 12 points to become the highest points-scorer in a Bledisloe series, while one try would also push him clear of team-mate Ben Smith in the tries count.
Dan Carter holds the top two spots in the points-scoring stakes - the only times someone has managed a half century. Neither time Carter scored a try in those hauls, kicking six conversions and 14 penalties in 2009, and two conversions and 16 penalties in 2012.
Carter also sits fifth on the list, with 45 from four games in 2008, and the only others ahead of Barrett are Carlos Spencer (49 from three games in 1997) and Wallaby Matt Giteau (46 from four games in 2009).
Tries-wise, Smith's five in 2013 was levelled by Barrett after he scored in Sydney then produced that stunning four-for in Auckland.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...ma-on-saturday