Wallabies confirm Thursday Bledisloe test as well as a unique venue to play Springboks
The Wallabies will play their first mid-week Test in 28 years, attempting to wrest back the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks on a Thursday night in Melbourne.
The trans-Tasman rivals will meet on September 15 at Marvel Stadium with the embattled code avoiding a clash with AFL and NRL finals.
The prized trophy will be contested in a two-match series, meaning Australia need to beat holders New Zealand in both games.
The second Test will be played at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday, September 24.
The last time Australia and New Zealand met in a mid-week Test was on a Wednesday night in Sydney in 1994, when halfback George Gregan pulled off a match-winning tackle on Jeff Wilson to secure a Wallabies victory.
The Bledisloe Cup, which is part of the Rugby Championship, leads a busy schedule of internationals for Australia's men's and women's teams.
The Wallaroos are preparing for the World Cup in New Zealand later this year and will host the Black Ferns as part of a historic double header at Adelaide Oval on August 27.
Their match precedes a Wallabies clash with South Africa, which is the hosts' first Test in South Australia since 2004.
Contesting the O'Reilly Cup, the Wallaroos will also take on New Zealand at Orangetheory Stadium in a stand-alone fixture in Christchurch on August 20.
Rugby Australia also announced a NSW Test between the Wallabies and South Africa, with the venue to be confirmed, and two away Tests against Argentina in August.
Brisbane, Perth and Sydney are already hosting the incoming series against England in July.
2022 Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup Fixtures
* Wallabies v Argentina — Saturday, August 6, Kick-off TBC, at Estadio Malvinas, Mendoza
* Wallabies v Argentina — Saturday, August 13, Kick-off TBC, at Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan
* Wallabies v South Africa — Saturday, August 27, Kick-off TBC at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
* Wallabies v South Africa — Saturday, September 3, Kick-off TBC at TBC, NSW
* Wallabies v New Zealand — Thursday, September 15, Kick-off TBC at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
* Wallabies v New Zealand — Saturday, September 24, 5:05pm AEST at Eden Park, Auckland
2022 O'Reilly Cup Fixtures
* Wallaroos v New Zealand — Saturday, August 20, 5:05pm AEST, Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
* Wallaroos v New Zealand — Saturday, August 27, Kick-off TBC, at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide.
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To be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
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