Anzac Day to make Bledisloe Test a 'marquee occasion'

The trans-Tasman captains are all in on an Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks as momentum grows behind a new marquee occasion for the sport.

Harry Wilson and Scott Barrett offered support for an April 25 Test.

“I think that’d be awesome for the rivalry, and I guess having that in the Super [Rugby] season, I think would be really cool,” Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson said.

“Having a three-match series, I think would also be something which everyone would enjoy.

“For me personally, I’d love that idea.”

All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett used fewer words but was no less effusive.

“If there’s a window, that would be a huge occasion between us and Australia,” he said.

A key challenge referenced by both Barrett and his coach Scott Robertson is a clash with club competition, with Super Rugby running from February to June.

“I think talk to Super Rugby first and see what they think about taking the All Blacks out of that, and then we’ll talk,” Robertson said.

Multiple reports on both sides of the Tasman suggest Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby and Super Rugby are close to agreeing an Anzac Day Test in 2026, most likely in Perth.

New Zealand Chief Executive Mark Robinson told Nine he was supportive of a new tradition starting in the 2026 season after talks with RA last week.

“We made a lot of progress around the concept, and we’ve agreed that over the next few weeks we could go away and try and bottom out the solutions to those issues,” Robinson said.

The All Blacks also want to tour South Africa in 2026 as part of an extended Freedom Cup Test series.

Battles with South Africa have surpassed the trans-Tasman rivalry in New Zealand given the Springboks’ emergence as world rugby’s dominant force, and the lack of jeopardy surrounding the Bledisloe Cup winners.

The Bledisloe Cup has taken various formats over the years.

In the past two decades it has been contested as part of the southern hemisphere competition – the Rugby Championship, or its forerunner the Tri Nations Series – as a two to four-game series.

Additional money-spinning Bledisloe Tests have been sometimes been bolted on, in Japan and Hong Kong, but most recently the format has been just two fixtures.

That has caused frustration, particularly in Australia, which must win a series outright to claim back the trophy.

In the past three years, that’s meant the series was over after an opening All Blacks win, leaving three dead rubbers.

“I was pretty happy with the arrangement last year and the year before, but now I’m not so happy about that arrangement,” said Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, who was an All Blacks assistant in 2022 and 2023.