Bledisloe Cup

The Bledisloe Cup is a rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia and New Zealand that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency at which the competition is held has varied, as has the number of matches played, 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 also counting towards The Rugby Championship. New Zealand have had the most success, winning the trophy in 2019 for the 47th time (excluding the disputed inaugural competition in 1931), while Australia have won the trophy 12 times.

Bledisloe Cup

Bledisloe Cup on display in Sydney 2014.
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1931
Number of teams	2
Country	Australia  New Zealand
Holders	New Zealand (2019)
Most titles	New Zealand (48 titles)

History

Bledisloe Cup Festival Day 2014 in Sydney

There is some dispute as to when the first Bledisloe Cup match was played. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) contend that the one-off 1931 match played at Eden Park was first. However, no firm evidence has been produced to support this claim, and it 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 to play for. 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 19 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 11 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

Hong Kong

It was announced in 2008 that the Bledisloe Cup would be contested over an unprecedented four matches, with three games played in Australia and New Zealand, followed by a fourth (and potentially deciding) game in Hong Kong, in an effort to promote the game in Asia. This was to be the first time Australia and New Zealand had played in a third country outside the Rugby World Cup.[1] The Hong Kong match drew a crowd of 39,000 to see the All Blacks defeat the Wallabies 19–14 (despite New Zealand having already won the Bledisloe Cup for 2008),[2] generating a reported £5.5 million and proving to be a financial success for the two unions.[3] A fourth match was again set in Hong Kong in 2010, but failed to attract sufficient ticket sales.[4]

Japan

The capital Tokyo hosted a fourth Bledisloe Test match on 31 October 2009. Each team expected to clear at least A$3.8 million/NZ$5 million from the Tokyo match.[5]

On 27 October 2018, Bledisloe Cup returned to Japan for the second time and was hosted in Yokohama with the purpose of promoting and preparing for 2019 Rugby World Cup.[6] All Blacks beating Wallabies 37-20 in the third test to sweep the series. The attendance figures was around 46,000 which became the record for a rugby test match in Japan.[7] The relatively poor ticket sales included about 10% arrived via giveaways because of clashing with the fixture between Japan and World XV a day before in Osaka and lack of competitiveness of Wallabies contributing to dead rubber match of the series.[8]

United States

Before the first match in Hong Kong, the two countries' rugby federations were considering taking Cup matches to the United States and Japan in 2009 and 2010. However, the proposed match in USA did not come to fruition.

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.[9]

Results

Year	Date	Venue	Home	Score	Away	Trophy Winner
2020[10]	14 November[lower-alpha 1]	Sky Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	–	Australia
	7 November[lower-alpha 2]	TBD[lower-alpha 3]	Australia	–	New Zealand
	17 October	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	–	New Zealand
2019	17 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	36–0	Australia
	10 August	Optus Stadium, Perth	Australia	47–26	New Zealand
2018	27 October	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama	New Zealand	37–20	Australia
	25 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	40–12	Australia
	18 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	13–38	New Zealand
2017	21 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	23–18	New Zealand
	26 August	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	35–29	Australia
	19 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	34–54	New Zealand
2016	22 October	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	37–10	Australia
	27 August	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	29–9	Australia
	20 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	8–42	New Zealand
2015	15 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	41–13	Australia
	8 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	27–19	New Zealand
2014	18 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	28–29	New Zealand
	23 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	51–20	Australia
	16 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	12–12	New Zealand
2013	19 October	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	41–33	Australia
	24 August	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	27–16	Australia
	17 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	29–47	New Zealand
2012	20 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	18–18	New Zealand
	25 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	22–0	Australia
	18 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	19–27	New Zealand
2011	27 August	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	25–20	New Zealand
	6 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	30–14	Australia
2010	30 October	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	Australia	26–24	New Zealand
	11 September	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	22–23	New Zealand
	7 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	20–10	Australia
	31 July	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	Australia	28–49	New Zealand
2009	31 October	National Stadium, Tokyo	New Zealand	32–19	Australia
	19 September	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	33–6	Australia
	22 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	18–19	New Zealand
	18 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	22–16	Australia
2008	1 November	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	New Zealand	19–14	Australia
	13 September	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	24–28	New Zealand
	2 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	39–10	Australia
	26 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	34–19	New Zealand
2007	21 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	26–12	Australia
	30 June	MCG, Melbourne	Australia	20–15	New Zealand
2006	19 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–27	Australia
	29 July	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	9–13	New Zealand
	8 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	32–12	Australia
2005	3 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–24	Australia
	13 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	13–30	New Zealand
2004	7 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	23–18	New Zealand
	17 July	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	16–7	Australia
2003	16 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	21–17	Australia
	26 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	21–50	New Zealand
2002	3 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	16–14	New Zealand
	13 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	12–6	Australia
2001	1 September	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	29–26	New Zealand
	11 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	15–23	Australia
2000	5 August	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	23–24	Australia
	15 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	35–39	New Zealand
1999	28 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	28–7	New Zealand
	24 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–15	Australia
1998	29 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	19–14	New Zealand
	1 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	23–27	Australia
	11 July	MCG, Melbourne	Australia	24–16	New Zealand
1997	16 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	36–24	Australia
	26 July	MCG, Melbourne	Australia	18–33	New Zealand
	5 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	30–13	Australia
1996	27 July	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	25–32	New Zealand
	6 July	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	43–6	Australia
1995	29 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	23–34	New Zealand
	22 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	28–16	Australia
1994	17 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	20–16	New Zealand
1993	17 July	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	25–10	Australia
1992	25 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	23–26	New Zealand
	19 July	Ballymore, Brisbane		19–17
	4 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney		16–15
1991	24 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	6–3	Australia
	10 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	21–12	New Zealand
1990	18 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	9–21	Australia
	4 August	Eden Park, Auckland		27–17
	21 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		21–6
1989	5 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	24–12	Australia
1988	30 July	Concord Oval, Sydney	Australia	9–30	New Zealand
	16 July	Ballymore, Brisbane		19–19
	3 July	Concord Oval, Sydney		7–32
1987	25 July	Concord Oval, Sydney	Australia	16–30	New Zealand
1986	6 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	9–22	Australia
	23 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin		13–12
	9 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		12–13
1985	29 June	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	10–9	Australia
1984	18 August	SCG, Sydney	Australia	24–25	New Zealand
	4 August	Ballymore, Brisbane		15–19
	21 July	SCG, Sydney		16–9
1983	20 August	SCG, Sydney	Australia	8–18	New Zealand
1982	11 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	33–18	Australia
	28 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		16–19
	14 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		23–16
1980	12 July	SCG, Sydney	Australia	26–10	New Zealand
	28 June	Ballymore, Brisbane		9–12
	21 June	SCG, Sydney		13–9
1979	28 July	SCG, Sydney	Australia	12–6	New Zealand
1978	9 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	16–30	Australia
	26 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		22–6
	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		13–12
1974	8 June	SCG, Sydney	Australia	6–16	New Zealand
	1 June	Ballymore, Brisbane		16–16
	25 May	SCG, Sydney		6–11
1972	16 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	38–3	Australia
	2 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		30–17
	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		29–6
1968	22 June	Ballymore, Brisbane	Australia	18–19	New Zealand
	15 June	SCG, Sydney		11–27
1967	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	29–9	Australia
1964	29 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	5–20	Australia
	22 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		18–3
	15 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin		14–9
1962	22 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	16–8	Australia
	8 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		3–0
	25 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		9–9
1962	4 June	SCG, Sydney	Australia	5–14	New Zealand
	26 May	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		6–20
1958	20 September	Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland	New Zealand	17–8	Australia
	6 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		3–6
	23 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		25–3
1957	1 June	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane	Australia	9–22	New Zealand
	25 May	SCG, Sydney		11–25
1955	17 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	3–8	Australia
	3 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		8–0
	20 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		16–8
1952	13 September	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	15–8	Australia	Draw
	6 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		9–14
1951	21 July	The Gabba, Brisbane	Australia	6–16	New Zealand
	7 July	SCG, Sydney		11–17
	23 June	SCG, Sydney		0–8
1949	24 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	9–16	Australia
	3 September	Athletic Park, Wellington		6–11
1947	28 June	SCG, Sydney	Australia	14–27	New Zealand
	14 June	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		5–13
1946	28 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	14–10	Australia
	14 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		31–8
1938	13 August	SCG, Sydney	Australia	6–14	New Zealand
	6 August	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		14–20
	23 July	SCG, Sydney		9–24
1936	12 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	38–13	Australia
	5 September	Athletic Park, Wellington		11–6
1934	25 August	SCG, Sydney	Australia	3–3	New Zealand
	11 August	SCG, Sydney		25–11
1932	23 July	SCG, Sydney	Australia	13–21	New Zealand
	16 July	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		3–21
	2 July	SCG, Sydney		22–17

Overall

Most titles won:

1. New Zealand - 47 (+1 in 1931)
2. Australia - 12

Longest time held by Australia: 5 years (1998–2002) (5 Titles)

Longest time held by New Zealand: 28 years (1951–1978) (12 Titles)

Home Series Wins:

1. New Zealand - 15
2. Australia - 5

Away Series Wins:

1. New Zealand - 12
2. Australia - 2

Home and Away Series Wins:

1. New Zealand - 21
2. Australia - 5

As of: 2019

Matches

Venue	Played	Won by		Drawn	Total points
		Australia	New Zealand		Australia	NZ
Australia	70	22	43	5	1204	1516
New Zealand	70	14	55	1	895	1605
Neutral venue	4	1	3	0	79	112
Overall	144	37	101	6	2178	3233

As of: Aug 17, 2019

Venues

In Australia

Stadium	City	State	Won by  Australia	Won by  New Zealand	Draw
Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney	New South Wales	6	13	1
Concord Oval			0	3	0
Sydney Football Stadium			4	2	0
Stadium Australia			6	10	1
Brisbane Exhibition Ground	Brisbane	Queensland	0	5	0
The Gabba			0	1	0
Ballymore Stadium			1	3	2
Lang Park			2	4	1
Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	Victoria	2	1	0
Docklands Stadium			0	1	0
Perth Stadium	Perth	Western Australia	1	0	0
			22	43	5

In New Zealand

Stadium	City	Island	Won by  New Zealand	Won by  Australia	Draw
Eden Park	Auckland	North	24	4	0
Epsom Showgrounds			1	0	0
Athletic Park	Wellington	North	8	5	1
Wellington Regional Stadium			4	1	0
Carisbrook	Dunedin	South	8	1	0
Forsyth Barr Stadium			2	0	0
Lancaster Park	Christchurch	South	9	3	0
			56	14	1

By year

Further information: History of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand

Women's format

In 2018 edition, Black Ferns and Wallaroos played Tests as curtain-raisers to both Bledisloe Cup Tests in Sydney and Auckland. The crowd at the end of both women's Tests swelled to about 28,000. The women's double-header concept was deemed as a success by NZR CEO Steve Tew who is open to repeating the concept. For the equivalent match at Eden Park in 2016, also before the men's clash, the crowd size peaked at 12,500.[11]

Media coverage

In Australia, the Bledisloe Cup was televised between 1992 and 1995 by Network Ten. Since 1996, Fox Sports has televised it jointly with Seven Network between 1996 and 2010, Nine Network in 2011 and 2012 and Network Ten since 2013.

See also

• History of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand
• Laurie O'Reilly Cup
• Rugby union trophies and awards

Notes

1. Postponed from 15 August 2020.
2. Postponed from 8 August 2020.
3. All tournament matches held in New Zealand.

1. "Hong Kong to host NZ v Australia". BBC Sport. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
2. "Australia 14–19 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
3. "US & Japan may host Bledisloe Cup". BBC Sport. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
4. "Rugby: Bledisloe test locked in for Hong Kong". Otago Daily Times. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
5. AAP (1 July 2009). "Wallabies to take on All Blacks in Tokyo". The Roar. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
6. "Rugby: NZ beats Australia 37-20 to sweep Bledisloe Cup series". Mainichi. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
7. "Rugby: Japan 'special' venue for World Cup, All Blacks captain says". Kyodo News. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
8. "Capacity crowd not expected for Bledisloe Cup test". Japan Times. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
9. Phillips, Sam (5 February 2019). "Rugby Championship change likely as World League talks gain steam". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
10. "Wallabies to return to Perth in 2020, 2021". www.rugby.com.au. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
11. "Bledisloe Cup Japan fixture could suffer after All Blacks win series". ESPN Scrum. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.