'They don't give a damn': SBW on the Wallabies during the 'aura' years for All Blacks

Former All Black midfielder Sonny Bill Williams played the Wallabies 11 times over his international career, losing just twice during a time when New Zealand held a dominant place in world rugby.

For most of the 2010s the All Blacks were the number one ranked side and won every tournament and trophy you could think of, including back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015.

The dual World Cup winner shared his surprise at how confident the Wallabies always were when they faced off as Bledisloe rivals despite the standing that the All Blacks had at that time.

"I always think of the confidence that they showed," Williams told ex-Wallaby Bernard Foley on Stan Sport.

"We beat them, you could beat them by 40 points the week before, and then you know the next week, they're going to be up for it.

"They don't give a damn, you know. Maybe that's because of the rivalry or I guess 'hatred' between the two countries, but I look at it as just pride."

The former NRL star experienced just two defeats to the Wallabies, one in Sydney in 2015 before that year's Rugby World Cup, and once in Brisbane in 2017 in a dead rubber third Bledisloe fixture where Israel Folau and Kurtley Beale produced memorable performances.

In between there were close wins and big wins, with Australia often turning around from a heavy defeat to push the All Blacks to the brink.

Williams most famous play against Australia over his career was not in a Bledisloe fixture, but in the 2015 Rugby World Cup where his offload to Ma'a Nonu set up a crucial try early in the second half.

He also explained the "cocky" All Blacks' mentality at that time when they still had "aura", where they looked at opposition teams and believed they would fold against them.

"I always felt like the teams that I played in, we still had that aura around us," Williams explained.

"You know, you had to step into that. You had to walk out with your chest puffed out.

"You know what I mean? Like these boys are going to fold. So yes, we always had that, people would say cockiness about us.

"But I felt like in that game, where it's a game of inches, you had to have that."