All Blacks to launch 'jewel in the crown'
The Wallabies will take on World Cup champion All Blacks to launch the game’s latest jewel in the crown – the Rugby Championship – in Sydney next year.
The Rugby Championship replaces the Tri-Nations series next year following the inclusion of Argentina alongside the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks.
For the Wallabies the ground-breaking Championship will open with a blockbuster at in Sydney against archrivals New Zealand on Saturday, August 18.
The showdown – featuring the Tri-Nations champions, the Wallabies, and the newly-crowned World Cup champions, the All Blacks – will also be the first Bledisloe Cup Test played under a new 10-year deal between Australian Rugby Union and the NSW Government.
The 10-year agreement delivers a “same time, same place” Bledisloe Cup Test at ANZ Stadium each year for the next 10 years to kick-off the Rugby Championship.
The timing of the opening Bledisloe Cup Test has now been set for the period 2012 to 2021, while next year’s trans-Tasman series will also feature matches in Auckland (August 25) and Brisbane (October 20).
The Brisbane Test will be a standalone, outside the Rugby Championship.
