Rugby Australia want Bledisloe Cup Anzac Test back on the table

Appetite for a Bledisloe Cup Anzac Day Test has returned as officials scramble to capitalise on the wildly successful Super Round return.

Three sell-out crowds of 25,000 fans watched five Super Rugby Pacific games between Friday and Sunday at Christchurch’s new, inner-city roofed One NZ Stadium.

It created over $6 million of spending and unprecedented competition fandom in the precinct and a timely feel-good hit for the competition.

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A multi-year deal to return to the city is being sought but, after three lukewarm years in Melbourne and no Super Round in 2025, there is now fresh interest on both sides of the Tasman to host it.

But Rugby Australia are thinking bigger, with a one-off Bledisloe Cup Test back on the radar for April 25, allowing Super Round to slide to another weekend and maximise exposure of a competition that’s battled for legitimacy.

Fresh New Zealand Rugby leadership are keen to explore the concept after it was floated by RA in 2024, but shot down as unviable.

“Some of those conversations are already live … as the weekend went on the conversation moved from ‘how good’s this’ to ‘how are we going to manage things like that in the future’,” Super Rugby Pacific boss Jack Mesley said.

The weekend began with World Rugby chair Brett Robinson taking a clip at ARL Commission counterpart Peter V’Landys, declaring rugby remained the game of the Pacific despite the likely exit of Moana Pasifika from the competition next season.

Rugby league is building in popularity in New Zealand’s south island, where the case for the country’s second NRL team is growing.

But after players, coaches gave widespread endorsement and the 14,000 travelling fans – of which about one third came from Australia – flooded the city in rugby jerseys Mesley said it served as a timely reminder.

“I’m Mr Positive about our competition and there’s a lot of good news stories in Super Rugby Pacific,” he said.

“Those people that might read some of the press that don’t believe me, hopefully they walk away with as much optimism as I have in the quality of our product.

“We need to get our product in front of more people, more often.”

City officials, who signed off on a three-year Supercars deal that began last week, expect the economic boost to exceed their forecasts but will crunch the numbers before committing to Super Round’s return.

But Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge was bullish, quoting Christchurch rapper Scribe who performed on Friday’s opening night.

“He said to me, after his show … ‘how many venues do you know like this? How many stadiums do you know like this? Not many, if any’,” he said.

“You absolutely have to have Super Round here next year. Are we announcing it today?

“Players were saying, ‘this is like playing in Europe’, and there wasn’t enough Sweet Caroline, other than that the fans loved it.”