Australia weighing Bledisloe Cup match in London, New York

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia is weighing London and New York as potential venues for a Bledisloe Cup clash against the world champion All Blacks.

Australia weighing Bledisloe Cup match in London, New York

(Reuters)





Sydney's Olympic stadium, a regular host for the blockbuster matches, will undergo a major redevelopment from 2019 and the Australian Rugby Union is scouting venues interstate and overseas.

"We are a global game so global opportunities will present themselves," ARU general manager Rob Clarke said in comments published by Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"Argentina are playing their home game against us at Twickenham in the Rugby Championship this year, so there is a precedent there.

"We have to balance that against rewarding our fans here in Australia and giving them top-class rugby content. So we wouldn't make that decision lightly, but it is certainly part of the framework.

"Even a city like New York, where there is a strong Australian and New Zealand expat presence, have expressed interest in getting more international rugby content. It is a consideration for us, certainly."

The Bledisloe Cup is the annual trophy contested between Australia and New Zealand. The All Blacks have held it since 2003.

Bledisloe Cup matches have been played in Hong Kong twice and once in Tokyo and have proven lucrative for the ARU and its New Zealand counterpart.

The 2020 season is most likely the earliest that a Bledisloe Cup match could be staged in Europe or North America, with the rugby World Cup in Japan to crowd the international calendar in 2019.





(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world