Boks to return to Wellington in 2019
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP: New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has announced Wellington’s Westpac Stadium will host South Africa in July 2019.
The match will take place in a condensed (due to Rugby World Cup) Rugby Championship in 2019, while Auckland will host the Bledisloe Cup at Eden Park on August 17, 2019.
The Wellington Test match will effectively be a dress rehearsal of the All Blacks and South Africa’s much-anticipated opening pool match of Rugby World Cup in Japan in September. It will be the only chance the two teams get to size each other up ahead of Rugby World Cup.
The Boks recorded a famous 36-34 victory over the All Blacks at the same venue in the 2018 Rugby Championship.
Wellington Rugby acting Chief Executive Matt Evans said the union was excited to host such an important Test match in such an important year.
“It’s fantastic for the whole Wellington region that All Blacks fans will still get to experience Test match rugby at Westpac Stadium in a reduced Rugby Championship schedule,” he said.
“It also gives fans a great opportunity to see the defending World Champions first hand before they head to Japan. As this year’s enthralling Investec Rugby Championship Test in Wellington demonstrated, South Africa are a fantastic opponent.”
Auckland Rugby CEO Jarrod Bear was also looking forward to having the All Blacks and the Black Ferns in town in 2019.
“Leading into the RWC2019 and with only a few opportunities to see the All Blacks in action next year, Auckland Rugby is excited to be partnering with Eden Park Trust to deliver rugby fans the opportunity to experience the world champion All Blacks and world champion Black Ferns playing Australia.”
All Blacks home fixtures below:
