r/NewZealandRugby

Hey, we are traveling to New Zealand between Jan 24 to Feb 24, 2027 (looping around both islands). We'd like to take in a Rugby game, but it looks like we are missing the start of the Super Rugby league in Dunedin by a day (not able to move things around).

Is there a schedule for local city teams? Smaller leagues? Beer leagues? Anything that I can check against our travel schedule would be awesome. Google searches only want to return the Super Rugby league and I'm not sure what to search for with smaller ones.

We are coming from Canada and have recently taken our daughter to Hockey (of course), Baseball, and Football (handegg) games. We'd love to show her a Rugby game during the trip. Thanks!

​

Every Bledisloe Cup series for the past two decades promotes a familiar theme. Is this the year? Can the Wallabies finally reclaim the coveted cup?

First things first, the Wallabies must defy history to defeat the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday before attempting to repeat a result that would stun the rugby world with victory in next week’s Sydney rematch.

It’s a tall order. But as late changes, influential defections, debatable selections and vulnerabilities engulf Dave Rennie’s All Blacks, there is genuine reason for the Wallabies to believe.

It’s 40 years since the Wallabies last won at Eden Park; 23 years since they last held the Bledisloe; five years since their last success in New Zealand.

Rennie was the last Wallabies coach to defeat the All Blacks. In the six years since, the All Blacks have notched 11 straight wins against their closest foe to leave the lingering expectation that the Bledisloe will forever hold New Zealand residence.

At this point, it deserves citizenship.

The backdrop to this week, though, paints a tense, nervous picture.

A seemingly revived Wallabies side riding a five-test unbeaten run under new coach Les Kiss flies in well under the radar for another shot at history.

The Wallabies aren’t at full strength. They’re missing prop Taniela Tupou and loose forward Tom Hooper, both of whom returned to their clubs abroad as this year’s Bledisloe tie falls outside the international window to accommodate Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, and midfielder Hunter Paisami through suspension, hurting their chances.

But so, too, are the All Blacks seriously wounded. Ruben Love, Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson and Caleb Clarke are major absences through injury. Fehi Fineanganofo, Anton Lienert-Brown and Patrick Tuipulotu are also missing.

Richie Mo’unga was named internally on Monday, only to suffer a calf injury at Tuesday training, ruling him out of the Bledisloe series before he’s reassessed for the end-of-year tour.

Mo’unga’s withdrawal forces a backline reshuffle, with Damian McKenzie grasping the playmaking reins for the first time this year and Beauden Barrett assuming his place at fullback after featuring in 15 minutes of the four previous tests against South Africa.

Rennie prefers McKenzie at fullback, but with Love and Mo’unga unavailable, it’s a case of needs must, with his experience favoured over rookie Josh Jacomb.

Barrett’s promotion further highlights the All Blacks’ most vulnerable area – their inability to defuse the high ball.

Alongside smaller wings Leroy Carter and Will Jordan, the Wallabies are certain to send Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i to challenge Barrett and the All Blacks backfield.

“They’ve got good men in the air,” Rennie said. “We had a strategy around it. If you include the scraps and the amount of clean ball in the air, we got around 50%, but South Africa were excellent in that department. We want teams to kick to us because we’ve got a mindset to play on that.

“The Wallabies play a lot more footy than South Africa, but they’ll play smart. Ryan Lonergan has a good kicking game and I’m sure they’ll use that to take pressure off others.”

Rennie underlined the widespread fine line calls by revealing he, forwards coach Neil Barnes and Graham Henry needed three selection meetings to settle on this week’s squad.

There’s no room for Fabian Holland, one of the All Blacks’ best in South Africa, and Tyrel Lomax has paid the price for the scrum issues with his omission from the squad.

Former captain Scott Barrett is immediately injected to start with Josh Lord after completing 92 minutes of rugby – two matches for Taranaki – since last November following back surgery.

“When we trained this morning you can see his influence, leadership and the connection as well,” Rennie said. “We’ve altered things a little bit there too, which should help.”

Fellow veteran Shannon Frizell will emerge off the bench for his first test in three years after returning from Japan, with Tupou Vaa’i continuing at blindside rather than lock.

Those selections speak to the demands for the All Blacks pack to vastly improve their set piece and physicality at the breakdown and in contact after being bullied at times in those departments by the Springboks.

“It’s probably the hardest side we’ve had to pick,” Rennie said. “There were a lot of tough decisions, and guys who missed out are very close.”

Three successive losses to the Springboks, the non-negotiable expectation for the All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe, defend fortress Eden Park and deliver notable improvements, significantly elevates the pressure valve.

This Wallabies side can upset the All Blacks – their one concern is whether their bench can match the All Blacks’ power in the form of Asafo Aumua and Frizell.

Rennie, having coached many of those in Kiss’ side during his three-year Wallabies tenure, knows the threats they pose.

“They’ll come here confident. They’ve had a good run recently. As you saw against that African side, they were pretty dominant for 70 minutes.

“All sides come here wanting to be the team to break the record. The Irish were the same when we spoke to them post-game, so we’re well aware of what’s coming.

“No one wants to be part of the first team for a long time to lose at Eden Park or lose the Bledisloe. You’ve got to reflect on that, but you can’t be stuck in there. We’ve discussed it, and then we use it as fuel.

“They’re dangerous, but that’s good for us, too. We’ve come out of South Africa. We’ve got a point to prove there and we’re up against a worthy opponent. We know we’re going to have to be at our best, so our expectation is that brings out the best in us.”

Three months into Rennie’s reign and the narrative shifts this week.

From outsiders against the world champions to overwhelming favourites against the Wallabies, a response is needed to protect a sacred ground and trophy.

As their stocks rise, hope and belief replace a sense of dread for the Wallabies.

The All Blacks must harness and channel nerves to prove they are not as vulnerable as some suspect.

It’s a familiar theme, maybe, but this could, indeed, be a Bledisloe battle for the ages.

All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor (c), 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Josh Lord, 6. Tupou Vaa’i, 7. Peter Lakai, 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Leroy Carter, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Beauden Barrett.

Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. George Bower, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Anton Segner, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. Rieko Ioane, 23. Josh Moorby.

Wallabies: 1. Angus Bell, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Jeremy Williams, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson (c), 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Ben Donaldson, 11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12. Len Ikitau, 13. Isaac Henry, 14. Max Jorgensen, 15. Tom Wright.

Reserves: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Aidan Ross, 18. Massimo De Lutiis, 19. Lachlan Shaw, 20. Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Declan Meredith, 23. Harry Potter.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Iain Payten - 9min read

This weekend the Wallabies will attempt to beat the All Blacks in Auckland for the first time in 40 years. The problem? New Zealand haven’t lost there, to anyone, since 1994.

After 40 years, the routine is familiar. A new Wallabies side arrives in Auckland and, with the renewed optimism of a blank scoreboard, bounces into Eden Park for a match-eve training session.

The captain will be asked about why Australia struggle to win at Eden Park. It’s just a footy field, the Wallabies skipper will reason. Even now-All Blacks coach Dave Rennie rolled the line out in 2020, when he was rocking in a gold tracksuit.

“But as soon as you start saying to yourself, ‘it’s another footy field’, it’s got you,” says retired All Blacks great John Kirwan. “Because it’s not.”

Eden Park should be just another footy field. While the Auckland venue has an exemption to be used as a phonebox-sized international cricket ground, it sits perfectly inside World Rugby regulations at 100 metres long and 70 metres wide.

It is a bog-standard grass rectangle.

But the All Blacks have - somehow - turned Eden Park into something far more imposing. That same grass rectangle is a pyschological fortress, inside which the New Zealand rugby team refuse to lose.

The All Blacks haven’t been beaten at Eden Park since 1994 - a run stretching to 53 Tests. And against Australia? The winning streak lasts longer, back to 1986, when the Wallabies last downed the Kiwis 22-9.

Some of those Wallabies are in their 70s, including captain Andrew Slack, who marks the passing of another year in life when journalists start ringing about the hoodoo. With incredible grace, Slack always calls back.

Since that win in 1986, 156 Wallabies players have tried and failed to get the job done against the All Blacks at the Auckland venue. Eales, Gregan, Horan, Larkham, Pocock, Slipper? Zero wins between them.

The All Blacks’ unbeaten run at Eden Park - which dates to France’s 23-20 win in 1994 - sits among the most incredible unbeaten streaks at home in the history of world sport (there were two draws in the 53-match run, against South Africa in 1994 and the Lions in 2017). The All Blacks have lost at other home venues, of course, but never at Eden Park; including winning the Rugby World Cup final in 2011.

The world record belongs to Serbian football team Red Star Belgrade, who were unbeaten at home in league games for an incredible 159 matches, between 2017 and 2025. They broke the previous record of 122 held by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu between 1957 and 1965. Chelsea hold the English Premier League record of 84 games between 2004 to 2008.

In Australian sport, the NRL record is held by Penrith (21 wins between 2019 and 2022), and the AFL record is 29 games by Geelong, between 2008 and 2011. As far as duration, the Kangaroos were unbeaten in league Tests at Suncorp/Lang Park for 24 years between 1990 and 2014, but it covered 12 Tests.

So why can’t anyone beat the All Blacks at Eden Park?

The ground has been redeveloped several times in the past 40 years, meaning any secret home knowledge of wind, camber or other Eden Park agrostology would be mostly redundant.

“For me, it’s just that it is home, and you don’t lose at home,” Kirwan says. “You could say that right across sport, you go to Brookvale, that’s Manly’s home and it’s always harder to win there. You play Queenslanders home, it’s hard. For me as an Aucklander and then an All Black, it was home.

“I used to sit in my same seat, so I felt comfortable, I knew the park, I knew the wind, I knew the crowd, I knew everything about it.

“With the All Blacks, because they travel all the time now, playing there is coming home. It’s become a really strong record, and with each year that passes, that’s where it gets interesting. The record passed to the next players, and they’re probably more anxious about losing at Eden Park than they are winning the Bledisloe.

“It’s become its own legacy.”

One of the greatest All Black wingers in history, Kirwan won countless games at Eden Park, including the inaugural Rugby World Cup final in 1987. But sitting just underneath that high point in Kirwan’s memory bank is having been in the last All Black team to lose there, to Les Bleus in 1994. He was also in the last All Blacks team to lose to the Wallabies in 1986.

“And that was my last year as an All Black,” Kirwan says, referencing his code switch to the Warriors in 1995. “At the time, you don’t think about those things, but yeah, now you do.”

It’s a “spiritual home” but the magic of Eden Park has no discernible origin. The venue is on the border of the well-heeled suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland, three kilometres to the southwest of Auckland’s CBD.

Known as Ngā Ana Wai, the area was a wetland and a foodbowl area for local Maori people for hundreds of years. In 1903, a cricketer called Harry Ryan decided to build a rock-strewed cricket field on the site.

“It was called “Ryan’s Folly” because people couldn’t believe you’d build a cricket ground in a swamp,” Eden Park historian Graham Walton says. “But he persevered and it self-drained in the summer a bit. It was finally drained around 1925 when the council put a big drain through the centre.”

Rugby had started playing at Eden Park in 1914, and though it would stay prone to being a flooded mudpit, the All Blacks’ run of success at the field began in 1921. Eden Park hosted the Empire (Commonwealth) Games in 1950 as well.

Few know Eden Park better than Walton, who saw his first game there as a five-year-old in 1946. He has worked at the venue in various guises for 30 years, helped write a book on the site and, at the age of 85, still gives tours.

“My father first moved to the area in 1914, and between the two of us, we’ve seen all but four or five All Blacks Tests played at Eden Park,” he said.

Walton recalls all the Wallabies’ wins at the ground - all four of them - in 1949, 1955, 1978 and 1986.

“1949 was an appalling, waterlogged day and Australia won 16–9. That game featured Australian players like Nick Shehadie — who later became lord mayor of Sydney — Col Windon, Dave Brockhoff and even Rex Mossop,” he said.

A cricket lover, Walton’s favourite memory of the ground is Grant Elliott hitting a six off the second-last ball to win the 2015 World Cup semi-final, ahead of the 2011 World Cup final win over France, 8-7. He recalls hundreds of spectators not even able to physically watch in the last minutes of that game.

Walton has seen 80 years worth of games, but he can’t quite put his finger on why the All Blacks are so strong at Eden Park.

“Talking to All Blacks over the years, they feel a real connection with the crowd in the modern era,” he said. “It’s a bit like Suncorp Stadium, because spectators are close to the playing surface. It’s a bit airy-fairy to talk about atmosphere, but there is a significant atmosphere.“

The records indicate the Wallabies haven’t even had many close defeats, beyond a 6-3 loss in 1991. Mostly, however, they have actually been competitive but for a 10-minute lapse that concedes a try or two, which turns into 30 points as the Wallabies chase and get loose.

After a few years under Joe Schmidt, however, this Wallabies team is better at staying in the game. And new coach Les Kiss has even had a win at Eden Park; as a defence coach for Ireland at the 2011 World Cup - against the Wallabies.

(The Wallabies later beat Wales in the bronze medal game at Eden Park, too).

Kirwan says the pressure of playing at Eden Park is essentially all psychological - for both the visitors, and hosts.

“It’s largely between the ears (for visitors),” he said. “But the positive for us is the big pressure on us as well. This is not just another Bledisloe Cup.

“There’s the added pressure for you to prepare properly. As an All Black, you don’t want to be the first one to lose there.”

Kirwan recalls scoring one of the most famous tries seen in New Zealand, when he ran 80 metres and through half the Italian side, to score in the very first World Cup match in 1987.

“It’s been etched in history a bit, and I held my breath for 90 yards. I scored the try and I was actually dizzy,” Kirwan says.

“But I always remember when I was running back, I was thinking: ‘wow, I really love this place’.”

Why?

Interested in thoughtful analysis. Coaching, personnel, structure ... what's your assessment of why the big downfall?

Watching The Makos, I can't think why Rennie didn't use Timoci on on tour as much as he did.

The only thing I can think of is Rennie not showing his hand 12 months out from a World Cup.

Another question is will we see a change at 15 or some tweaking in the jersey. The NPC is producing some scintillating wingers and one that has caught my eye is Michael Manson and Kyren Taumoefolau. And not to forget, Injured Caleb Tangitau.

Could we see Will Jordan in the 15 jumper again? There's Josh Moorby too. Can you imagine a back line that has Caleb/Manson in the 11 jumper, Tangitau/Kyren 14, Moorby/Jordan 15?

A coach once said there's no substitution for pace.