Bledisloe Cup

History

Semantics plays a role in the issue of when the inaugural Bedisloe Cup match was played. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) contend that the one-off 1931 match played at Eden Park was first. The only record of a match taking place is recorded in the minutes of a New Zealand union management meeting several days later that Lord Bledisloe wished to present a cup for the All Blacks and Wallabies competition. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) believe that the first match was when New Zealand toured Australia in 1932.

Between 1931 and 1981, the Bledisloe Cup was contested irregularly in the course of rugby tours between the two countries, with New Zealand winning it nineteen times and Australia four times. In 1949, Australia won the competition for the first time on New Zealand soil. The trophy itself was apparently 'lost' during this period and reportedly rediscovered in a Melbourne store room. It was contested annually from 1982 to 1995, sometimes as a series of three matches (two in 1995) and other times in a single match. During these years, New Zealand won the trophy eleven times and Australia three times.

Since 1996, the cup has been contested as part of the annual Tri Nations tournament. Until 1998, the cup was contested in a three-match series consisting of the two Tri Nations matches between the two sides and a third match. New Zealand won the series in 1996 and 1997, and Australia won it in 1998.

In 1996, and from 1999 through 2005, the third match was not played; during these years, Australia and New Zealand played each other twice as part of the Tri Nations for the cup. If the two teams won one game each, or if both games were drawn, the cup was retained by its current holder. The non-holder needed to win the two games 2–0 or 1–0 (with a draw) to regain the cup. A criticism of this system was that, with the two sides being very well matched in ability level, it was very common for the teams to win one game each and many rugby fans were dissatisfied with one team keeping the cup in the years when the series was tied at 1–1 (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004).

In 2006, the Tri Nations series was extended so that each team played each other three times, meaning a return of the three-game contest for the Bledisloe Cup. However, the cup reverted to the two-game contest in 2007 because the Tri Nations was abbreviated that year to minimise interference with the teams' preparations for the World Cup.

The three-match format for the Bledisloe Cup continued in 2012, with the first two matches taking place as part of the 2012 Rugby Championship.

Neutral venues

Discussions have been held at various times to stage matches in Asia and north America. A formal proposal came from Denver, Colorado, USA for a fixture in 2009 which did not eventuate. A few games have been played in Hong Kong and Japan without regular continuity .

Hong Kong

In 2008 the Bledisloe Cup was contested over four matches played in Sydney, Auckland, Brisbane and Hong Kong, in an effort to promote the game in Asia. This was the first time Australia and New Zealand had played in a third country outside the Rugby World Cup. The Hong Kong match drew a crowd of 39,000 to see the All Blacks defeat the Wallabies 19–14 (New Zealand having already won the Cup for that year). The fixture reportedly generated over £5.5 million—a financial success for the two unions. A fourth match was again played in Hong Kong in 2010—Australia winning by 26-24—but ticket sales fell well short of expectations.

Japan

The capital Tokyo hosted a fourth Bledisloe Test match on 31 October 2009, which the All Blacks won by 32-19. The game was heavily publicised to "raise the profile of rugby in the region in the run-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and help bring more youngsters into playing the game."

On 27 October 2018, the Bledisloe Cup returned to Japan for a second contest hosted this time in Yokohama with the purpose of promoting and preparing for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks defeated the Wallabies 37–20 in that third test to sweep the series. Attendance was around 46,000—a record for a rugby test match in Japan.

Future proposals

Behind the push from World Rugby with their League of Nations concept, only one match result would count for League of Nations points but the new season schedule must be able to accommodate a second Test each year in the new format. The gate receipts from Bledisloe Cup match-ups are critical to both Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby Union and both nations are firm in their belief that one home match is mandatory. The third Bledisloe, which has long been a cash cow for both nations, could cease to exist. Any cash lost from forfeiting that match would be compensated by A$18 million per year in League of Nations broadcast revenue.

Results

Matches and statistics

Match stats

Venues

In Australia

In New Zealand

Media coverage

In Australia, the Bledisloe Cup was televised between 1957 and 1991 by ABC, between 1992 and 1995 by Network Ten. Since 1996, paid service Fox Sports has televised it jointly with (free to air) Seven Network between 1996 and 2010, Nine Network (2011–2012), Network Ten (2013–2020) and since 2021 the Nine Network has held full broadcast rights alongside its paid streaming arm Stan Sport.

In New Zealand the Bledisloe Cup was televised between 1962 and 1996 by NZBC, Television One, TVNZ. Since 1997 the Bledisloe Cup has been televised by Sky Sport on Pay TV and Free To Air on TV3, Prime now called Sky Open.

Notes

References

References

1. (5 August 2021). "The story of the Bledisloe Cup in 15 facts".
2. Fontana, Marnie. (11 September 2024). "A rich rivalry - the history of the Bledisloe Cup.".
3. (31 October 2008). "US & Japan may host Bledisloe Cup". BBC Sport.
4. (3 March 2008). "Hong Kong to host NZ v Australia". BBC Sport.
5. (1 November 2008). "Australia 14–19 New Zealand". BBC Sport.
6. (13 September 2010). "Rugby: Bledisloe test locked in for Hong Kong". [[Otago Daily Times]].
7. AAP. (1 July 2009). "The fourth Bledisloe Cup Test is a good thing for rugby". The Roar.
8. (28 October 2018). "Rugby: NZ beats Australia 37–20 to sweep Bledisloe Cup series". [[Mainichi]].
9. (27 October 2018). "Rugby: Japan 'special' venue for World Cup, All Blacks captain says". [[Kyodo News]].
10. Phillips, Sam. (5 February 2019). "Rugby Championship change likely as World League talks gain steam". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].