Bledisloe Cup match confirmed for Japan

The third Bledisloe Cup match between New Zealand and Australia this year will be played in Japan, the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have confirmed today.

The match will be played at Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, on Saturday 27 October.

It will be the second Bledisloe Cup match to be played in Japan, with the two teams playing at the National Stadium, Tokyo, in 2009.

NZR CEO Steve Tew said: "We're delighted to confirm that a Bledisloe Cup Test match will be played in Japan for the second time in the history of this great rivalry. The last match in 2009 was a fantastic event but this year's Test at the 72,000-seat stadium in Yokohama will be at another level. The All Blacks have huge support in Japan so the Bledisloe Cup Test will be important for the team as we build support ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019."\

Both the Bledisloe Cup match and the All Blacks Test against Japan the following weekend (Saturday November 3, at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo) will be played at key RWC2019 venues. The All Blacks play their opening tournament match against South Africa in Yokohama (which is also the venue for the Semifinals and Final) and their match against Africa 1 in Tokyo.

JRFU President Tadashi Okamura said: "It gives us great pleasure to host the Bledisloe Cup, a long-established and classic rugby match, for the second time in this country, in the year before the Rugby World Cup 2019, at the same venue as the tournament's Final.

The first Bledisloe Cup Test will be played in Sydney on August 18, with the return match a week later at Eden Park on Saturday 25 August.