Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

I’d have loved to see Bledisloe Cup rugby on Anzac Day.

Rugby Australia’s (RA) vision for an annual test in Perth, starting from next year, is to be applauded.

The fact the Western Australian government was reportedly ready to back the concept financially, along with hosting the Super Round in conjunction, could have seen rugby genuinely fight the NRL and AFL for sporting primacy at that time of year.

AFL clubs Collingwood and Essendon meeting at the MCG has become synonymous with Anzac Day, as have the annual rugby league clashes between the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra, followed by the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors.

In a short time, those games have become absolute highlights of the sporting calendar.

I won’t criticise New Zealand Rugby (NZR) for finding the Bledisloe Cup concept too difficult to fit into the schedule, because it’s a view I have some sympathy with.

The preparation of the All Blacks is timed to the minute and introducing a test match in the middle of the Super Rugby Pacific season has the potential to throw that carefully managed system into chaos.

I wonder if money will eventually talk, but for the time being, the Anzac Bledisloe seems to have fallen into the too-hard basket.

That’s fine.

It’s just that, as a fan, I believe adding a third Bledisloe Cup clash to the schedule – particularly one that will be played in Australia – puts the trophy truly up for grabs.

I’ve written many times of living through the Springbok tour to New Zealand of 1981 and the subsequent years of South African sporting isolation.

In that time, the Wallabies became the All Blacks’ greatest foe, not least because the Bledisloe Cup changed hands at regular intervals.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

5

Draws

0

Wins

0

Average Points scored

30

20

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

60%

I get that surrendering the cup isn’t something the current crop of NZR staff and governors eye with any relish, but I’ll continue to argue that it would ultimately be good for our rugby.

I’ll be interested to know what fans think of seeing the proposed Anzac Day clash scuppered. Like, genuinely interested.

This Super Rugby Pacific season hasn’t been without merit. The standard of rugby has been good, the results unpredictable, and television audiences strong.

But RA’s Bledisloe proposal gives us an opportunity to wonder about how sacred the timing of this competition is and whether we couldn’t reimagine how the season is configured.

No, the All Blacks don’t historically play Test football in April. But, heck, it’s not so long ago we weren’t playing franchise rugby in February and March either.

When I was a kid, the season started with the national sevens tournament in Palmerston North, club rugby and then the Test and provincial stuff.

Times changed, and so did the schedule, partly as a result of New Zealand’s growing interest in Australian rugby league.

Perhaps RA’s desire to start Anazc Bledisloes from 2026 was a bit premature. Maybe 2028 or 2030 would give everyone enough time to decide how the game can be accommodated.

The point is, it’s a worthy idea for many reasons, not the least of which is money.

Talk continues of potential NRL expansion into Perth, and an annual Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup clash would help cement rugby’s status as the second biggest code in the city, after AFL, and thwart rugby league’s march west.

Any NRL team in Perth requires significant financial support from the state government who, at least according to RA, are happy to throw money at rugby union and it would be nice for our code to get in before that well runs dry.

Those are all discussions for folk far smarter than me to have. As a fan, I just welcome the idea that the Bledisloe Cup could become Anazc Day’s marquee sports event. Let’s hope it can one day become a reality.