Nothing sinister in delayed move to Dunedin

The Wallabies say they have not snubbed Dunedin — it is simply just the way the side is operating this year.

Australia will take on the All Blacks in Sydney tonight and then both teams will head across the Tasman for another match — to be played at Forsyth Barr Stadium next Saturday.

But although the All Blacks will arrive in Dunedin late tomorrow night, the Wallabies are instead heading to Christchurch for three days of training and will not land in Dunedin until late Thursday.

The Wallabies are just the latest in a long list of international teams which have not spent the entire week before a test in Dunedin in the city.

Last year, Wales did not head south from Wellington until later in the week and England did the same in 2014.

But a Wallabies spokesman said yesterday there was nothing sinister in the delayed move to Dunedin. It was just part of the way the team was operating this year — it was starting the week away from the test venue and then moving to the host city within a couple of days of the game.

Even when the side is in Sydney the side moves accommodation to be nearer the venue within a couple of days of the game after starting the training week in another motel.

It will do the same when in South Africa, staying in Johannesburg before flying to Bloemfontein on the Thursday before the test on Saturday.

In Argentina, the Wallabies will stay in Buenos Aires before flying to Mendoza a couple of days before the game.

The All Blacks will spend the entire week in Dunedin next week.

The teams last met in Dunedin in 2013 when the All Blacks won 41-33. 

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