There is a significant change coming to the rugby calendar with the reduction of the Bledisloe Cup series from three Tests to two each year, in news originally reported by Stuff.
The series is one of the most famous on the rugby calendar, but it has been a one sided contest since 2003, when the All Blacks regained the cup from the Wallabies and haven’t let it go.
A reduction to two Tests makes Wallabies coach Dave Rennie’s job of winning the Bledisloe back even harder, as the Wallabies will have to win in New Zealand and Australia.
Watch Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s Blues debut and every game of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, streaming ad-free, live and on demand only on Stan Sport. Sign up for your free seven-day trial!
Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was a mutual decision.
“When we looked ahead, in terms of what is the content we want in our market and who we are going to be playing against, we agreed on both sides that we want to go back to the two games between us,” Marinos said.
“I think where we are in terms of our planning, our growth and our development, pitting ourselves against the Kiwis once at home and once away is really right for where we are at this point in time.”
READ MORE: Rugby Australia reveal new three star eligibility laws
READ MORE: Rugby world mourns All Blacks icon dead at 52
READ MORE: Cooper granted Aussie citizenship after 75 Tests
The reduction in the number of Bledisloe Tests has been previously discussed, but RA and NZ Rugby had been locked into a 10 year contract for three Tests a year that was signed in 2011.
That contract ran out last year, when the All Blacks hosted back-to-back Tests at Eden Park in a COVID-19 hit schedule.
Eden Park was only half full for the second Test, won 57-22 by the All Blacks, and although the Test had been hastily arranged without the normal marketing push, the sight of thousands of empty seats in Auckland suggested the series had lost at least some of its lustre.
Nonetheless, there was a strong crowd in Perth for the third Bledisloe Test, and the immediate financial impact of the two Test series will be felt more keenly by RA.
The Wallabies were due to host the All Blacks twice in Australia this year, but with that now off the table they will take a commercial hit.
The Bledisloe has been played as a three Test series since 2006 – except in Rugby World Cup years – and has even been stretched out to a four Test series in some years.
That has bred a sense of over familiarity, and it’s understood the All Blacks are looking at a Test against Japan before their end of season Tests against Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
The entire global calendar is currently up for discussion and rugby powerbrokers from both hemisphere will soon meet in Europe to thrash out the possible creation of a Nations Championship in 2024, against the backdrop of South Africa hinting it wants to join the Six Nations after SANZAAR’s broadcasting deals run out in 2025.
Reports in South Africa have even suggested that the Springboks could play in both the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship in the shorter term, but that thinking is likely to be coolly received, and seen as antithetical to the integrity of both competitions.
The Nations Championship discussions will take in the commercial split from any new competition, which isn’t likely to be owned by World Rugby, but it is still understood that there is work to be done is getting the agreement of the French and English clubs, particularly if the new competition requires an extra test weekend in late November to stage a final.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!