The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia’s Wallabies and New Zealand’s All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s.
The frequency that the competition is held has varied, as has the number of matches played in each tournament, but it currently consists of an annual three-match series, reduced to a two-match series in World Cup years, with two of the matches counting towards The Rugby Championship.
New Zealand have had the most success, winning the trophy in 2022 for the 50th time (excluding the disputed inaugural competition in 1931), while Australia have won the trophy 12 times.
Eddie Jones is dreaming of ending Australia’s nightmare Bledisloe Cup drought in a city with happy memories as the Rugby Championship fixture list was confirmed on Friday.
In a truncated schedule due to the Rugby World Cup, the Wallabies will take on the All Blacks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 29 and Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on August 5.
New Zealand’s Eden Park fortress is off limits because of the women’s football World Cup, giving Jones more than a glimmer of hope.
Australia NZ Rugby Bledisloe Cup fixtures
Wallabies v New Zealand, 7.45pm AEST, Saturday 29 July at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Wallabies v New Zealand, 12.35pm AEST Saturday 5 August at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin