Bledisloe Cup reduced from three to two Tests a year

There is a significant change coming to the Wallabies’ Test calendar with the reduction of the Bledisloe Cup series from three matches to two each year.

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.

Tom Banks scores against the All Blacks last year.Credit:Getty

They have not let it go since, and the appetite for a three-Test series each year has declined. Axing the third Bledisloe Test is seen as a way of reducing the quantity of Tests played each year.

That will be the case in 2022, and it may be the way of the future as the All Blacks weigh up capping the number of Tests they play at 13 – or even 12.

According to Stuff, plans are afoot for the Maori All Blacks to face Ireland at least once as part of Ireland’s visit to Aotearoa in July.

The All Blacks are due to host Ireland for three Tests in July – Eden Park, Sky Stadium in Wellington and Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin are the likely venues – but the addition of a possible fixture or two against the Maori All Blacks at regional venues would lend an old-school feel to the tour, and make it the centrepiece of the All Blacks’ home calendar.

A reduction in the number of Bledisloe Tests has been previously discussed, but New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia had been locked into a 10-year contract for three Tests a year since 2011.

That contract ran out last year, when the All Blacks hosted back-to-back Tests at Eden Park in a COVID-hit schedule.

Eden Park was only half full for the second Test, won 57-22 by the All Blacks, and although the match had been hastily arranged without the normal marketing push, the sight of thousands of empty seats in Auckland suggested the series had lost some of its lustre.

stuff.co.nz

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