All Blacks to play Bledisloe in Perth, Queensland to host Rugby Championship

The third Bledisloe Cup test will be played in Perth next weekend with the remainder of the Rugby Championship to be held in Queensland.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

It’s understood an announcement will be made today after the Queensland government gave approval for the state to host the tournament and put South Africa and Argentina in quarantine facilities where they can continue training.

The All Blacks will fly out for Perth this week and will play the Wallabies in the final Bledisloe Cup test on September 4 before both teams move to Queensland for their Rugby Championship games against the Springboks and Pumas.

If it wasn’t possible to play it in Australia the options were to move the Rugby Championship to either the UK and Europe or South Africa, with the former the preferred option.

As reported by RNZ yesterday the Sanzaar board were due to meet last night and they have since agreed on the schedule.

The All Blacks cant get MIQ spots until November 23, so once they leave New Zealand, which is expected to be on Thursday, they will be away from Aotearoa for more than three months.

The Rugby Championship was originally to be hosted by New Zealand and Australia before Covid outbreaks in both countries forced those plans to be changed.

New Zealand Rugby had come under fire from Rugby Australia and Sanzaar after NZR announced on Friday the All Blacks would not be travelling to Western Australia over the weekend as originally planned, citing uncertainty over how the tournament would play out.

Rugby Australia slammed NZR’s move not to send the All Blacks to Perth for the original test date of August 28 and the Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was left fuming after he claimed the move was announced without telling his team.

“I’m bloody angry. Our boys all found out through social media,” said Rennie.

“I thought ‘New Zealand Rugby didn’t even have the respect to consult Rugby Australia about their decision’, so that’s hugely disappointing.

“I feel like there’s only one of us doing what’s in the best interest of the game.

“Last year, we went to New Zealand to ensure the games were played for the benefit of both countries.

“We quarantined in Wellington for two weeks. The expectation was we made a commitment to go there this year, they’d come here and they haven’t honoured. It tells you more about them than us I reckon.”

Over the weekend the NZR chief executive Mark Robinson refuted claims RA not been consulted before the All Blacks pulled out having won the opening two encounters in Auckland earlier in the month and his views were backed by Nichol.

“The decision that New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa have made has all been vindicated.

“We started last week with the idea that Argentina and South Africa would travel to New South Wales and quarantine there for two weeks and train and New Zealand would travel to Perth, play this weekend and then all of the countries would then meet up in Perth for the rest of the Rugby Championship.

“But, by Tuesday night NSW had said ‘No we won’t accept South Africa and Argentina’ and Western Australia said ‘We won’t hold the Rugby Championship’.

“So, the only option for Australia now is that Queensland steps up and agrees to host Argentina and South Africa in a quarantine facility and allows them to train, then we hold the Rugby Championship in Queensland.

“Everyone gave Friday lunchtime as the deadline to know that if New Zealand was going to travel (to Perth) and if Argentina and South Africa were going to get on the charter flight yesterday and fly into Queensland.

“Queensland couldn’t confirm by then. So, Argentina and South Africa basically cancelled the charter flight, they’re still in South Africa, and New Zealand said ‘We don’t want the risk of flying to Perth, playing a game of rugby and then having to spend another eight weeks there with no rugby to play and then go on an end of year tour, because our team can’t get back into the country once we leave, because we don’t have any MIQ spots until the 23rd of November.

“This was a completely fair and reasonable decision. It wasn’t even a decision not to go, it was actually just unfeasible to go. Argentina and South Africa determined the same thing.

“Every party was full aware of it. It’s a storm in a tea cup…I don’t see why this had to blow up the way it did.”