Bledisloe Cup

Bledisloe Cup

Sport	Rugby union
Awarded for	Winner between Australia–New Zealand series [lower-alpha 1]
Local name	Kapu Bledisloe (Māori)
Country	Australia   New Zealand
History
Editions	63
First winner	New Zealand (1932)
Most wins	New Zealand (51)
Most recent	New Zealand (2023)

The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition 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 2023 for the 51st time and 21st in succession (excluding the disputed inaugural competition in 1931), while Australia have won the trophy 12 times.

History

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

Semantics plays a role in the issue when was the inaugural Bledisloe Cup match 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

Hong Kong

In 2008 the Bledisloe Cup was contested over an unprecedented four matches, with three games each 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 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 the United States 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	Series Winner	Result	Trophy Holder
1932 [lower-alpha 2]	2 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	22–17	New Zealand		2–1
	16 July	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		3–21
	23 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		13–21
1934 [lower-alpha 2]	11 August	Sydney Cricket Ground,Sydney	Australia	25–11	New Zealand		1–0
	25 August	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		3–3
1936 [lower-alpha 2]	5 September	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	11–6	Australia		2–0
	12 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		38–13
1938 [lower-alpha 2]	23 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	9–24	New Zealand		3–0
	6 August	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		14–20
	13 August	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		6–14
1946 [lower-alpha 2]	14 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	31–8	Australia		2–0
	28 September	Eden Park, Auckland		14–10
1947 [lower-alpha 2]	14 June	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane	Australia	5–13	New Zealand		2–0
	28 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		14–27
1949 [lower-alpha 2]	3 September	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	6–11	Australia		2–0
	24 September	Eden Park, Auckland		9–16
1951 [lower-alpha 2]	23 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	0–8	New Zealand		3–0
	7 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		11–17
	21 July	The Gabba, Brisbane		6–16
1952 [lower-alpha 2]	6 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	9–14	Australia	Draw	1–1
	13 September	Athletic Park, Wellington		15–8
1955 [lower-alpha 2]	20 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	16–8	Australia		2–1
	3 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		8–0
	17 September	Eden Park, Auckland		3–8
1957 [lower-alpha 2]	25 May	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	11–25	New Zealand		2–0
	1 June	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane		9–22
1958 [lower-alpha 2]	23 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	25–3	Australia		2–1
	6 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		3–6
	20 September	Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland		17–8
1962 [lower-alpha 3]	26 May	Exhibition Ground, Brisbane	Australia	6–20	New Zealand		2–0
	4 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		5–14
1962 [lower-alpha 4]	25 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	9–9	Australia		2–0
	8 September	Carisbrook, Dunedin		3–0
	22 September	Eden Park, Auckland		16–8
1964 [lower-alpha 2]	15 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	14–9	Australia		2–1
	22 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		18–3
	29 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		5–20
1967	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	29–9	Australia		1–0
1968 [lower-alpha 2]	15 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	11–27	New Zealand		2–0
	22 June	Ballymore, Brisbane		18–19
1972 [lower-alpha 2]	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	29–6	Australia		3–0
	2 September	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		30–17
	16 September	Eden Park, Auckland		38–3
1974 [lower-alpha 2]	25 May	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	6–11	New Zealand		2–0
	1 June	Ballymore, Brisbane		16–16
	8 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		6–16
1978 [lower-alpha 2]	19 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	13–12	Australia		2–1
	26 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch		22–6
	9 September	Eden Park, Auckland		16–30
1979 [lower-alpha 2]	28 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	12–6	New Zealand		1–0
1980 [lower-alpha 2]	21 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	13–9	New Zealand		2–1
	28 June	Ballymore, Brisbane		9–12
	12 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		26–10
1982 [lower-alpha 2]	14 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	23–16	Australia		2–1
	28 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		16–19
	11 September	Eden Park, Auckland		33–18
1983	20 August	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	8–18	New Zealand		1–0
1984 [lower-alpha 2]	21 July	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Australia	16–9	New Zealand		2–1
	4 August	Ballymore, Brisbane		15–19
	18 August	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney		24–25
1985	29 June	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	10–9	Australia		1–0
1986 [lower-alpha 2]	9 August	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	12–13	Australia		2–1
	23 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin		13–12
	6 September	Eden Park, Auckland		9–22
1987	25 July	Concord Oval, Sydney	Australia	16–30	New Zealand		1–0
1988 [lower-alpha 2]	3 July	Concord Oval, Sydney	Australia	7–32	New Zealand		2–0
	16 July	Ballymore, Brisbane		19–19
	30 July	Concord Oval, Sydney		9–30
1989	5 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	24–12	Australia		1–0
1990 [lower-alpha 2]	21 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	21–6	Australia		2–1
	4 August	Eden Park, Auckland		27–17
	18 August	Athletic Park, Wellington		9–21
1991 [lower-alpha 2]	10 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	21–12	New Zealand	Draw	1–1
	24 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	6–3	Australia
1992 [lower-alpha 2]	4 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	16–15	New Zealand		2–1
	19 July	Ballymore, Brisbane		19–17
	25 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney		23–26
1993	17 July	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	25–10	Australia		1–0
1994	17 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	20–16	New Zealand		1–0
1995	22 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	28–16	Australia		2–0
	29 July	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	23–34	New Zealand
1996	6 July	Athletic Park, Wellington	New Zealand	43–6	Australia		2–0
	27 July	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	25–32	New Zealand
1997	5 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	30–13	Australia		3–0
	26 July	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Australia	18–33	New Zealand
	16 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	36–24	Australia
1998	11 July	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Australia	24–16	New Zealand		3–0
	1 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	23–27	Australia
	29 August	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Australia	19–14	New Zealand
1999	24 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–15	Australia	Draw	1–1
	28 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	28–7	New Zealand
2000	15 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	35–39	New Zealand	Draw	1–1
	5 August	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	23–24	Australia
2001	11 August	Carisbrook, Dunedin	New Zealand	15–23	Australia		2–0
	1 September	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	29–26	New Zealand
2002	13 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	12–6	Australia	Draw	1–1
	3 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	16–14	New Zealand
2003	26 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	21–50	New Zealand		2–0
	16 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	21–17	Australia
2004	17 July	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	16–7	Australia	Draw	1–1
	7 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	23–18	New Zealand
2005	13 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	13–30	New Zealand		2–0
	3 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–24	Australia
2006	8 July	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	32–12	Australia		3–0
	29 July	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	9–13	New Zealand
	19 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	34–27	Australia
2007	30 June	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Australia	20–15	New Zealand	Draw	1–1
	21 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	26–12	Australia
2008	26 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	34–19	New Zealand		3–1
	2 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	39–10	Australia
	13 September	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	24–28	New Zealand
	1 November	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	New Zealand	19–14	Australia
2009	18 July	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	22–16	Australia		4–0
	22 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	18–19	New Zealand
	19 September	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	33–6	Australia
	31 October	National Stadium, Tokyo	New Zealand	32–19	Australia
2010	31 July	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	Australia	28–49	New Zealand		3–1
	7 August	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	New Zealand	20–10	Australia
	11 September	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	22–23	New Zealand
	30 October	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	Australia	26–24	New Zealand
2011	6 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	30–14	Australia	Draw	1–1
	27 August	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	25–20	New Zealand
2012	18 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	19–27	New Zealand		2–0
	25 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	22–0	Australia
	20 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	18–18	New Zealand
2013	17 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	29–47	New Zealand		3–0
	24 August	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	27–16	Australia
	19 October	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	41–33	Australia
2014	16 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	12–12	New Zealand		2–0
	23 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	51–20	Australia
	18 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	28–29	New Zealand
2015	8 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	27–19	New Zealand	Draw	1–1
	15 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	41–13	Australia
2016	20 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	8–42	New Zealand		3–0
	27 August	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	29–9	Australia
	22 October	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	37–10	Australia
2017	19 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	34–54	New Zealand		2–1
	26 August	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	35–29	Australia
	21 October	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	23–18	New Zealand
2018	18 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	13–38	New Zealand		3–0
	25 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	40–12	Australia
	27 October	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama	New Zealand	37–20	Australia
2019	10 August	Perth Stadium, Perth	Australia	47–26	New Zealand	Draw	1–1
	17 August	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	36–0	Australia
2020	11 October [lower-alpha 5]	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	16–16	Australia		2–1
	18 October [lower-alpha 6]	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	27–7	Australia
	31 October	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	5–43	New Zealand
	7 November	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	24–22	New Zealand
2021	7 August [lower-alpha 7]	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	33–25	Australia		3–0
	14 August [lower-alpha 7]	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	57–22	Australia
	5 September	Perth Stadium, Perth	Australia	21–38	New Zealand
2022	15 September	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	Australia	37–39	New Zealand		2–0
	24 September	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	40–14	Australia
2023	29 July	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Australia	7–38	New Zealand		2–0
	5 August	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	23–20	Australia

Matches and statistics

Match stats

As of 5 August 2023.

Series' stats by match Venue Played Won by Drawn Total points   Australia   New Zealand Australia New Zealand Australia 74 22 47 5 1,274 1,674 New Zealand 78 14 62 2 1,004 1,801 Neutral venue 4 1 3 — 79 112 Overall 156 37 112 7 2,357 3,587

Series' stats by series [lower-alpha 8] Venue Played Won by Drawn   Australia   New Zealand Australia 17 5 12 — New Zealand 17 2 14 1 Mixed [lower-alpha 9] 30 5 25 — Overall 64 12 51 [lower-alpha 10] 1

Venues

As of 5 August 2023.

In Australia Location Stadium Won by   Australia Won by   New Zealand Drawn Sydney, New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground 6 13 1 Concord Oval — 3 — Sydney Football Stadium 4 2 — Stadium Australia 6 11 1 Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane Exhibition Ground — 5 — The Gabba — 1 — Ballymore Stadium 1 3 2 Lang Park 2 4 1 Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 2 2 — Docklands Stadium — 2 — Perth, Western Australia Perth Stadium 1 1 — Overall 22 47 5

In New Zealand Location City/Region Stadium Won by   New Zealand Won by   Australia Drawn North Island Auckland Eden Park 29 4 — Epsom Showgrounds 1 — — Wellington Athletic Park 8 5 1 Wellington Regional Stadium 4 1 1 South Island Dunedin Carisbrook 8 1 — Forsyth Barr Stadium 3 — — Christchurch Lancaster Park 9 3 — Overall 62 14 2

Media coverage

In Australia, the Bledisloe Cup was televised 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.

See also

• Sports portal
• Australia portal
• New Zealand portal

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

Notes

1. Since 1996, the cup has consistently been played during the annual Tri Nations Series/The Rugby Championship. Conventionally over a three-match series, eight (1967, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994) of the cup series' sixty-three arrangements have been one-off matches. Since 2022 the cup has been a two-match, home-and-away series.
2. Tour series.
3. New Zealand tour of Australia, Autumn/Winter 1962.
4. Australian tour of New Zealand, Winter/Spring 1962.
5. Postponed from 8 August 2020.
6. Postponed from 15 August 2020.
7. Two tests were played at Eden Park due to COVID-19
8. Post-1994, both sides have consistently played series matches on a home/away basis, with an occasional neutral venue.
9. Includes the series' where the venues were played at home, away and/or a neutral venue.
10. Does not include the 12 September 1931 "one-off" test match at Eden Park, Auckland.

References

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.