Surprise city to host 2025 Bledisloe Cup Test as Anzac fixture looms
The Bledisloe Cup and NRL grand final will be played on the same weekend next year, but they’ll be on opposite sides of the country after a surprise call from Rugby Australia.
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Perth will host the only Bledisloe Cup match held in Australia next year in what could be a precursor to the first ever Anzac Day Bledisloe the following year in the West Australian capital.
Optus Stadium will stage the clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks in 2025 on Saturday, October 4, a day before the NRL grand final.
But the decision may have implications beyond next year, as Rugby Australia and their Kiwi counterparts discuss the possibility of playing the 2026 Bledisloe Cup match in Perth on Anzac Day, with the city to also host an entire round of Super Rugby that same weekend.
While RA would not be drawn on whether the decision to give Perth next year’s Bledisloe is an indication they’ll get to host a planned Anzac game, they’ve previously stated their desire to host the proposed game.
“We would do it as soon as possible if we could, but we’re obviously working with New Zealand Rugby to ensure it works for both New Zealand rugby, and Rugby Australia,” RA chief executive Phil Waugh told this masthead earlier this year.
“But it would be the ultimate Anzac Day clash wouldn’t it, the Wallabies versus the All Blacks, so we’re certainly very eager to accelerate that Test match and scheduling the Anzac Bledisloe.”
This will be the third time the Wallabies and All Blacks have played in Perth – scene of Australia’s biggest win over the Kiwis when Michael Cheika’s men won 47-26 in 2019.
RA also confirmed that their two Rugby Championship games against Argentina next year will be played in Townsville and Sydney.
The Wallabies will play their two games against the Springboks in South Africa, who lured tens of thousands of supporters to Optus Stadium earlier this year.
“We saw again this year the massive support for the game in Perth with over 58,000 supporters at Optus Stadium for the South Africa match and I’m sure we’ll see great interest when the Bledisloe Cup Test returns to Western Australia next year,” Waugh said.
“To be able to return to Townsville demonstrates our commitment to making our national teams more accessible to more Australians and we look forward to returning to Sydney the following week for what’s always a strong supporter base for the Wallabies.”
Western Australia’s Tourism Minister, Rita Saffioti, said: “The Bledisloe Cup is a much-loved sporting event with a track record of huge success in Perth, so we’re very excited to be bringing it back in 2025 in the midst of our golden decade of rugby.
“Having this test match as the only Bledisloe Cup Test on Australian soil next year is a massive coup, and with the passion and enthusiasm rugby fans have for this event in particular, we’re expecting many of them to make the trip across the country to witness this spectacle.
“There’s so much happening for rugby union fans in WA with the HSBC SVNS returning for a second year in January, the Western Force set to play on home turf in the opening fixture of the highly anticipated 2025 British & Irish Lions tour, and of course the entire nation gearing up to host the Rugby World Cup in 2027.”
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Originally published as Surprise city to host 2025 Bledisloe Cup Test as Anzac fixture looms