New Zealand Rugby shoots down lucrative All Blacks v Wallabies Test as Rugby Australia’s radical idea shelved

New Zealand Rugby have ruled out the possibility of staging an Anzac Day Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks, despite it being potentially lucrative for both countries.

Rugby Australia last year proposed the idea of having an international between the two arch-rivals on the national day of remembrance.

It takes place on April 25 every year, which is of course during the Super Rugby Pacific season and much earlier than they would ordinarily clash in the Rugby Championship.

There have been obvious issues that needed to be ironed out for it to go ahead and NZR believe that there are too many obstacles in the way for the Wallabies and All Blacks to go head-to-head.

Not viable

“We certainly committed to exploring the concept and were open-minded to it, but had a lot of work to do,” chief executive Mark Robinson told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“When we have gone and spoken to various groups, be it the Super Rugby clubs, the players association and various partners, we don’t see it as viable, at this stage.

“As part of that we looked at the model of doing this home and away, because if we were to move to what is effectively a three-test series, playing every year away wasn’t something we thought was appropriate. And when you look at the financial model of doing it home and away, it’s vastly different to what the Australians are proposing with their model of funding.

“The reality of that, and how it looked long-term commercially, was another consideration. What we do we risk in Super, in player welfare and in other commercial partnerships, by comparison? That was the equation we looked at and, at the moment, it doesn’t really stack up.”

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Events based around Anzac Day attract huge numbers in Australia, with both the AFL and NRL benefiting greatly from the concept.

RA was therefore hoping to set up something similar, with the governing body standing to generate millions had it gone ahead, but NZR have pulled the plug.

“Based on all in the information we’ve seen, there were no solutions to all of those things combined that we could see immediately. It’s hard to see in the immediate future, that’s for sure,” Robinson said.

Australian response

Despite this huge setback, the Australians are not giving up on the idea with RA CEO Phil Waugh remaining hopeful that it will be revived at some point down the line.

“We think it could be one of the most compelling sporting events on the calendar across Australia and New Zealand, uniting our two countries on a day we reflect on the strength of the bond between us,” Waugh said.

“The Wallabies and All Blacks share a rich history and an Australia-New Zealand Bledisloe Cup on Anzac Day would add a new chapter to that.

“The stakeholder engagement and commercial due diligence we have undertaken all come to the same conclusion: this is an excellent initiative and one worth pursuing. We will continue to work towards a solution.”

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