Bledisloe Cup clash on ANZAC Day might work but with consequences

In an interview with the Inside Line podcast Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert revived a decade-old idea for a Bledisloe Cup Test match on Anzac Day.

New Zealand was initially dismissive suggesting the logistics of such a fixture were too difficult. But with both countries facing major financial challenges - RA will announce a loss for 2023 at their next AGM and is battling again this year  - Herbert believes rugby needs to embrace bold ideas built around commerciality and entertainment and let go of “amateur baggage” holding the game back.

“It is not two clubs against one another. It is a long-standing rivalry, but also a long-term partnership, and recognised through a flagship event like that, we could develop a really big event, a prestigious event around that,” Herbert elaborated.

He described a possible Anzac Day fixture as a “no brainer."

If ever there was an illustration of the diminishing interest in the Blediose Cup it surely peaked in 2021.

Only 25,121 spectators watched the All Blacks thrash Australia 57-22 in a brilliant performance at Eden Park. The crowd was even smaller for the Sydney Test. Only 25,689 fans filled the 80,000 seats at ANZ Stadium.

Granted those matches were played during the confusing Covid period but the Sydney Blediose Cup Test used to be a guaranteed sellout. It hasn’t sold out since 2009 when 80,228 showed up.

In 2012, 76,877 people watched the All Blacks 27-19 win. The last Blediose Test to sell out in Brisbane was an 18-18 draw in 2012.

An Anzac Day Union Test that emulated the historical ceremony, narratives, and marketing of rival codes AFL and NRL would unquestionably attract great interest. But it needs to come attached with another caveat.

The Test on April 25 should be the game to decide the winner of the trophy. A one-off, winner-takes-all game that switches between countries each year would enhance the magnitude of the occasion.

Since 1995, 22 of the 82 Blediose Cup Tests (27%) have been ‘dead rubbers.’ That is the winner of the trophy has already been settled before kickoff. Can you imagine the NBA playing a Game 7 of the finals when one side already leads a series 6-0?

Australia’s lack of competitiveness and milking of a previously lucrative cash cow has led to an abundance of fixtures with nothing riding on them.

Sure every Test is important for the players and there have been some great games when the destination of the Bledisloe has already been settled. In 2010 James O’Connor kicked a last-play conversion for a Wallabies win in Hong Kong. In 2014 Malakai Fekitoa scored a try on the siern for the All Blacks in Brisbane.

Sure, other sporting contests like Ashes cricket last year have compelling ‘dead rubbers’ but the Bledisloe Cup needs a shot up the arm and an ANZAC day, winner-takes-all, fixture provides that.

From an Australian perspective, two of their most iconic Bledisloe Cup victories were in one-off games in 1979 and 1994.  In 1993 there were absolute scenes on the terraces at Carisbrook in Dundien when the All Blacks beat Australia 25-10 to regain the Bledisloe.

An international in April doesn’t give either team much time to prepare which might compromise the quality of play, but conversely, it adds a sense of intrigue and desperation with so much on the line and little time together.

Leading players seemingly come and go when they please from Super Rugby these days so the excuse of player burnout doesn’t wash.

There’s no reason why the Black Ferns and Wallaroos can’t be part of the occasion either or they could play a match at a different time on the same day.

On both sides of the Tasman participation numbers at the grassroots level are falling.

Several factors could be responsible for the decline in numbers including cost of living pressures and other recreational choices.

Surely another reason is the sheer size of rugby players. In the first 20 years of professionalism, the average weight of a rugby international increased by 20kg. A healthy 85kg battler trying to stop a 140kg behemoth is usually a hopeless cause for the former.

Rugby World Cup-winning coach Sir Graham Henry recognised this. In 2021 he was instrumental in establishing a National Under 85kg competition in New Zealand which featured over 50 teams last year. A national side that didn’t play a game was selected. Suddenly a viable alternative is opening for those of smaller or average weight to compete, stay, and maybe one day get paid in the game they love.

What about an Under 85kg Bledisloe Cup? Call it the ‘George.’ That is the George Gregan/George Nepia trophy – two iconic players from each country under 85kg separated by nearly a century. That’s proof little guys can be enduringly successful.

Anzac Day, a day when New Zealand and Australia share common ground could be even more special for rugby with increased relevance introduced to a long rivalry.