NZ Rugby keeping an open mind on Anzac Bledisloe test
New Zealand Rugby is prepared to keep an open mind on a fresh Rugby Australia proposal to stage an Anzac Day Bledisloe test, although Stuff understands that significant hurdles would have to be cleared for the fixture to proceed.
In a statement released to Stuff yesterday, NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson noted that the previously frosty trans-Tasman relationship had improved and that the dialogue about the additional test would continue.
“The Bledisloe Cup series is something which is truly special in our game and a highlight for Wallabies and All Blacks fans each season,” Robinson said.
“We had a constructive set of meetings with RA recently and they tabled the idea of an Anzac Bledisloe match.
“The relationship between the two organisations is positive and, as with all discussions about matters in the future including the calendar, we will keep the conversations going.”
Any Anzac Day test would mark a return to a three-test Bledisloe series, the most recent of which was held in 2021 – a 3-0 series win to the All Blacks.
The remaining two tests would take place within the context of the Rugby Championship, as occurs now.
Rugby Australia chairperson Daniel Herbert told The Sydney Morning Herald this week that the idea would be a “no brainer”, with Australian rugby bosses again viewing the Bledisloe Cup as their most valuable annual revenue-raising event.
A crowd of almost 84,000 watched the Bledisloe test at the MCG last year, bolstered by a significant number of New Zealanders.
However, the practicalities of the additional test have yet to be worked out – particularly the share of revenue.
Stuff understands that Rugby Australia wants to keep all the takings from the event, as a form of compensation arising from the proposed All Blacks tour of South Africa in 2026, and reciprocal tour in 2030.
During those years, the Rugby Championship would be shortened to accommodate the tours, which would have obvious implications for Australia and Argentina.
Sanzaar chief executive Brendan Morris told Stuff in March that working out a solution between all four joint-venture partners would prove a challenge.
“The fans get the consistency of TRC year-in, year-out being the same format,” he said. “Is that important to people, and if not what is the value, the uplift or the damage, of that being disjointed over the cycle.
“So, there's a fair bit of commercial analysis going on around that. What does the future look like for all four partners?”
Ironically, to stage an Anzac Day test, NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia would also have to break up the current Super Rugby Pacific season, and it would also compete against other premium sports events taking place in Australia on the same day.
The proposal looks set to test the improved relationship between NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia.
Stuff understands the recent meeting at which the Anzac Day test idea was raised was considered as “the best in years” between NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia, with mutual respect on both sides and a broad agreement on a range of issues vital to both parties.
However, the fallout from the Hamish McLennan era at Rugby Australia persists.
While the former Rugby Australia chair was successful in squeezing more money out of of NZ Rugby to continue Super Rugby, his aggressive approach pushed NZ Rugby to work more closely with South Africa, Ireland, France, England and Japan.
As an example, the All Blacks will play Ireland in the United States next year, Stuff can confirm, and any attempts to re-introduce a third Bledisloe test would have to be weighed up against the current demands on the All Blacks.