Wallabies Bledisloe Cup hopes dive after Eden Park confirmed for 2026 opener
Seven Wallabies coaches have tried and failed to win back the Bledisloe Cup, and now it just got a whole lot tougher for the man who will be the eighth, Les Kiss.
Les Kiss’ hopes of becoming the first Wallabies coach in 24 years to win back the Bledisloe Cup have nosedived after the Kiwis announced the opening game of 2026 will be held at Eden Park.
The Auckland fortress, home of world sport’s longest streak, was confirmed as host of the Bledisloe opener on Tuesday.
Kiss, who will take over from Joe Schmidt as Australia’s head coach next July, must coach the Wallabies to their first win over the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986 to have any hope of keeping the two-game series alive.
If the Wallabies lose their 12th straight Test against New Zealand in that Auckland game on October 10, the following week’s match at Sydney’s Accor stadium will be a dead rubber.
Eddie Jones was the last Australian coach to win a Bledisloe series, in his first year in charge in 2001. His side retained the trophy in 2002 with a drawn series, before the All Blacks won it in 2003.
Since then, fellow coaches John Connolly, Robbie Deans, Ewen McKenzie, Michael Cheika, Dave Rennie, Jones again and Schmidt have all tried and failed to reclaim the trophy.
While the Wallabies have not beaten the All Blacks at any New Zealand venue since 2001, their losing stretch at Eden Park goes back an extraordinary 39 years, when Andrew Slack’s team coached by Alan Jones won 22-9.
Since then there has only been pain at the ground, where the All Blacks have lost a Test to any nation since France defeated them in 1994.
It’s a stunning unbeaten record of 52 consecutive Tests. The next closest in world rugby history was England’s run of 22 straight at Twickenham from 1999-2003.
The Bledisloe showdown will be one of just two games the All Blacks play at Eden Park next year.
They’ve agreed to a seven match, four Test tour of South Africa in 2026, labelled Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and will spend the bulk of the year abroad.
Their first Auckland Test will come against Ireland in June, followed by the Wallabies in October.
They begin their 2026 campaign against France in Christchurch, Italy in Wellington, and then Ireland.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said: “Playing at home will always be special to the All Blacks and to host three Northern Hemisphere nations in consecutive weeks is a great start to our 2026 campaign and a challenge we will embrace. It will be an historic occasion for Christchurch at the new stadium.
“We know Italy will be highly motivated as we start the Nations Championship and, as always, we will walk toward the challenge of defending our record at Eden Park against Ireland and Australia.”
Schmidt will coach the Wallabies in Nations Championship games against Ireland, France and Italy, before handing duties over to Kiss, who is signed as head coach until the end of 2028.
Kiss will take charge in his first match against Eddie Jones’ Japan on August 8.
He will coach the Queensland Reds in next year’s Super Rugby Pacific season, which finishes in June, before stepping up as Wallabies coach and plotting the 2027 World Cup campaign.
It was confirmed last week that the Wallabies and All Blacks will be in the same pool at the World Cup for the first time.
The winner of that game is likely to top the pool and face world champions South Africa in the quarter-finals. The loser is set to finish second in the group, and likely face a round of 16 match against Japan, and a quarter-final against England.
Originally published as Wallabies Bledisloe Cup hopes dive after Eden Park confirmed for 2026 opener
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