‘Tough’ call to leave Dunedin off ABs schedule

"It’s just one year [that Dunedin misses out]. There are opportunities again in the future for Dunedin and other venues" — NZR professional rugby and performance manager Chris Lendrum. Photo: Getty Images

New Zealand Rugby has gone as far as it can to assure southern fans the All Blacks are not deserting Dunedin for a worryingly long period.

The national organisation yesterday confirmed the venues for the four tests to be played on home soil next year.

As revealed by the Otago Daily Times on Monday, Forsyth Barr Stadium will be missing from the schedule for the first time since Covid wrecked the 2020 season.

The All Blacks will take their test bow at the new Christchurch stadium against France on July 4, and further tests in the new Nations Championship will be played in Wellington (July 11) and Auckland (July 18).

After the extensive "Greatest Rivalry" tour of South Africa, the All Blacks will return to Eden Park to play the Wallabies on October 10.

Having just four home tests was always going to create a challenge for Dunedin to get one, given the $683 million One New Zealand Stadium up the road will now take precedence, and the fortress that is Eden Park regularly gets two tests a year.

NZR professional rugby and performance manager Chris Lendrum offered an olive branch yesterday when asked if it had been a tough call to leave out Dunedin and a stadium that has arguably provided the best experience for All Blacks fans since opening in 2011.

"All calls are tough in hosting allocation," Lendrum said.

"The key thing in 2026 is we have a relatively small slate of domestic internationals to allocate.

"It’s just one year [that Dunedin misses out]. There are opportunities again in the future for Dunedin and other venues."

Lendrum acknowledged it was a no-brainer that Christchurch got a plum test to celebrate the opening of the new covered stadium.

"All corners of the country are important, but Canterbury is a heartland for rugby, and through circumstances out of everybody’s control, they haven’t had the diet of international rugby and opportunity to connect with the All Blacks that we would have liked them to have.

"We were always going back next year and we’re excited about that."

France caused a stir when they sent a team — still a competitive team, to be fair — shorn of most of its best players earlier this year.

Lendrum said NZR had no concerns over the makeup of the French squad next year, especially as it was the first test in the Nations Championship tournament.

The test against Italy in Wellington has an unusual but family-friendly 5.10pm kick-off.

"There’s always a balance of factors between getting fans to the ground and accommodating what will be a very large TV audience," Lendrum said.

"I think it’s an opportunity to do something a little bit different. There’s a big Italian community in Wellington, and we think it will be a great event."

It will be Italy’s first test in Wellington and their fourth in New Zealand since they played the All Blacks in the opening game of the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

The All Blacks’ 52-test unbeaten streak at Eden Park will be on the line twice, first against Ireland then against an Australian team trying to win the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.

Ireland have never won at Eden Park and won only twice in New Zealand, but the teams have been evenly matched in recent years, with the All Blacks winning six of the past 10 tests.

Outgoing NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said the first test in Christchurch would be a significant moment for rugby.

"For the All Blacks to play at the new One New Zealand Stadium 15 years after the earthquakes will be a special moment for the team and a significant occasion for rugby at the start of a new era for the international game.

"Hosting France, Italy and Ireland in consecutive weeks will be new for our players and it creates three unique match experiences for fans in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland as we kick off the Nations Championship era.

"The Bledisloe Cup is a hugely important trophy to the All Blacks, as is the team’s record at Eden Park, and our home fans will no doubt play their part again in the tests against Ireland and Australia."