Optus’ attendance record could fall as Bledisloe Cup returns to Perth

Perth will be the only Australian city to host a Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and All Blacks in 2025, 9 News Perth and WAtoday can reveal.

The test match between Australia and New Zealand’s rugby union sides is scheduled to be played on Saturday, 4 October, and is the latest international event secured by the West Australian government.

Perth’s Optus Stadium hosted a 2019 Bledisloe Cup Test.Credit: AP

“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,” Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said.

The Bledisloe Cup holds the sporting event attendance record for Optus Stadium, when 61,000 turned out to watch the Wallabies convincingly win 47-26 in 2019.

That record could tumble next year, as Saffioti declared the event “one of the world’s biggest sporting rivalries.”

“Having the Bledisloe Cup as the only one on Australian soil next year is a massive coup,” she said.

“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 no word if a fee was paid to secure the match, however last financial year’s calendar of events, which included Italian football, WWE: Elimination Chamber, and Coldplay, boosted the state’s economy by $286 million – an almost 5-fold return on investment.

“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,” Ms Saffioti said.

“We’ve put our bids in for the Rugby World Cup to be a part of that in 2027, so we’re very keen to continue to support the game in WA.”

Perth remains in the running to host the Rugby World Cup final – touted as the world’s third largest sporting event behind the FIFA World Cup and Olympics – however is more likely to be in Sydney or Melbourne where there are bigger stadium capacities.

Wanneroo Rugby Union Club juniors Grace Milner, Wirum Milner and Mason Paniorataua welcomed the announcement.

“When I first heard about the All Blacks coming I was questioning it, to see if they were joking or not, but when I heard it was for real I got excited,” Mason said.

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