Kiwi PM in Bledi good call

NEXT month’s Bledisloe Cup series is back on with Australia and New Zealand agreeing to play the two Tests on successive Sundays after the Wallabies threatened to boycott.

The first Test will be played in Wellington on October 11 then the second at Eden Park in Auckland on October 18.

“Thank you to New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Government for the flexibility and support over the last week, to find a mutually agreeable solution,” Rugby Australia interim chief executive Rob Clarke said.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and his players will get straight to work following the Super Rugby AU final on Saturday night in Canberra.

Rugby Australia will meet SANZAAR partners on Thursday to work on the schedule for The Rugby Championship in Australia in November.

The Bledisloe Cup agreement came after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison with a peace offering.

Under the new regulations, the Wallabies will be able to train as a squad four days after leaving Australia.

Still moping after being replaced by Australia as the host of this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, the Kiwis were in grave danger of also losing the two Bledisloe Cup Tests because of their strict biosecurity regulations.

Facing increasing criticism at home, Ardern called Morrison to say NZ would agree to relax its rules for the Wallabies so they could train together and prepare for the Test series.

The dates for The Rugby Championship – which involves Australia, NZ, Argentina and world champion South Africa – will be released later this week.