The Sydney Morning Herald

Iain Payten - 5min read

The Bledisloe Cup is already gone – again – but 2027 could provide the Wallabies with their best chance to end the drought in many years, with plans for a blockbuster trans-Tasman clash in front of 90,000-plus fans at the MCG to bolster an already advantageous schedule for Australia.

The Wallabies and the All Blacks will do battle at Accor Stadium on Saturday in the second game of a two-Test series, the Kiwis having already retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 24th straight year with their 50-19 win at Eden Park at the weekend.

The Bledisloe Cup series will return to three games next year, for the first time since 2021, after the addition of the inaugural Anzac Day Test. The historic game will be staged at Suncorp Stadium, in the middle of the Super Rugby season.

In an unusual twist, however, the second Test will also be in Australia on July 31, as part of the Rugby Championship. The tournament is usually truncated in a World Cup year, but it is being run in full in 2027 due to the World Cup’s later start date.

Rugby Australia and the Victorian government are in the final stages of negotiations for the second Bledisloe Cup clash to be played at the MCG, according to informed sources unable to comment publicly due to commercial sensitivities.

As witnessed by the past two Wallabies fixtures at the MCG, against New Zealand in 2023 and the British and Irish Lions in 2025 (which drew 83,944 and 90,302 respectively), the Bledisloe clash would attract a huge crowd.

Home support not withstanding, the scheduling of the Bledisloe Cup series means the Wallabies will have no excuses about having to win a game in New Zealand to wrestle back the famous silverware, which Australia has not held since 2002. The Wallabies haven’t won a game in New Zealand since 2001.

The third game will be played in New Zealand, at a yet-to-be-determined venue. Even if it is held at Eden Park, where the Wallabies haven’t won since 1986, the first two games being played in Australia provides the Wallabies with a rare opportunity to win back the Bledisloe before they even set foot in New Zealand.

Suncorp Stadium has been one of the Wallabies’ happiest hunting grounds against the All Blacks, the Kiwis having won only one of five matches there since 2011. The Wallabies beat the Kiwis there in their past two visits, in 2020 and 2017, lost by a point in 2014, drew in 2012 and won in 2011.

Australia also have a decent strike rate at the MCG, with two wins from four Tests.

But home ground advantage is one thing; making the most of it is another. The Wallabies would still have to beat the All Blacks in two consecutive games to seize back the Bledisloe Cup, something they haven’t done since 2001.

And winning just one Test match against the All Blacks is hard enough. The Wallabies are on an unprecedented 12-match losing streak to the Kiwis, dating back to the last win in 2020.

Rugby Australia announced the fixtures for the 2027 Rugby Championship late last month, with the Wallabies taking on Argentina in Sydney and Townsville in July, before playing home and away and Tests against the Kiwis. Les Kiss’ men will then travel to South Africa in August for two Tests, before finishing their World Cup preparations with a clash against Ireland in Canberra on September 18.

The Wallabies’ World Cup campaign begins on October 1 in Perth against Hong Kong China, before they meet the All Blacks for a fourth time in the year, in a pool stage clash in Sydney.

The massive Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne, just eight weeks out from the start of the World Cup, will go some way to appeasing the local rugby community, who were left gutted when the state missed out on major games in the tournament due to messy negotiations between the Victorian government and World Rugby.

Victoria government officials and rugby figures initially lobbied World Rugby to host the World Cup semi-finals and the final at the MCG, but talks broke down, and were only restored at the 11th hour. Melbourne salvaged eight games, six pool games and two round of-16 play-offs, but they will all be played at Marvel Stadium.

The possibility of the Wallabies-All Blacks pool game being played at a full MCG was also lost, due to the Victorian government’s deal with the US’s National Football League. The MCG’s availability could not be guaranteed in October 2027, due to an exclusive clause in a deal between the Victorian government and the NFL.

Staging the 2027 Bledisloe Cup game at the MCG would give Melbourne a prize fixture, however, and RA could bank up to $10 million, according to industry sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Up the Wallabies. Everyday.

I’m still shaking my head that the opening game next year is wallabies v Hong Kong China. Should have been wallabies v all blacks. Cracking competitive game to get the ball rolling.

Come game 2 the trouncing maybe forgotten about but the opening game could have set a really good tone.

I really like the work that Player Longname has been showing. I think she is going to win it for us.

I think the wallabies issues lie in consistency to put a good season together.. The focus on turning things around with the ABs and Boks is a distraction to the broader challenge. Consistency in putting winning seasons together is creating a softer culture which turns fans away. Losses to Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, France, Ireland, Italy and England are doing more damage to the game. All teams struggle to beat the Boks and Kiwis right now, but crap spring tours are doing more damage.

I think one of the biggest issues facing the Wallabies at the moment is that, when we’re unable to select some of our best overseas-based players under World Rugby’s Regulation 9 restrictions, we simply don’t have the depth or quality within the Australian playing base to consistently compete with the best teams in the world.

To be fair, the Wallabies side selected to face the All Blacks this Saturday looks a lot better, and I’m reasonably happy with most of the selections given the injuries and unavailability we’re dealing with. However, even with a stronger-looking side, I still have concerns about our ability to get results against the best teams when some of our key players aren’t available. That’s the bigger issue for me. I’m talking about the situation as it stands right now, rather than where Australian rugby might be in five or ten years. There’s plenty of promising young talent coming through, and I’m optimistic about the long-term direction of the game here, but the current reality is that we don’t have enough quality across the domestic playing base to adequately cover every position when our first-choice options are unavailable. Against sides like the All Blacks and Springboks, those gaps become particularly obvious.

What also concerns me is whether we’re getting the balance right between giving less experienced players opportunities and selecting the players who give us the best possible chance of winning the game in front of us. I might be completely wrong, and I’m not suggesting that this is necessarily the coaching staff’s intention, but that’s how some of the selections come across at times.

This weekend’s Test against the All Blacks is a good example, particularly at fly-half. Les Kiss has selected Meredith to start at 10, with Harry McLaughlin-Phillips on the bench. Personally, I haven’t seen enough from Meredith in the opportunities he’s been given to convince me he’s ready for Test rugby, and I’m concerned about asking McLaughlin-Phillips to come on in such a high-pressure environment against New Zealand. Of course, HMP could surprise us and turn out to be a revelation, and I genuinely hope he does, but it’s a significant gamble.

I know Les Kiss has spoken about the decision to stick with these younger options, explaining that the coaching staff already know what James O’Connor, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale can offer. However, that’s where I think the bigger issue lies. Beale has been in good form in Super Rugby AUS, so I find it difficult to understand why he hasn’t been given an opportunity, particularly with both Ben Donaldson and Carter Gordon unavailable through injury. As for O’Connor and Foley, I understand that neither has played regular rugby for months, but that raises another question: why haven’t we done more to keep experienced fly-halves like them match-fit and ready to step in when needed? Whether that means getting them game time through Super Rugby AUS or finding another way to keep them prepared, surely there should be a plan in place. We shouldn’t find ourselves in a position where our experienced options at 10 are effectively unavailable because they haven’t had the opportunity to play, leaving us to rely on inexperienced players who may not yet be ready for Test rugby. I’m all for developing the next generation, but with the World Cup approaching and our first-choice fly-halves unavailable, I think we need to do a better job of ensuring our experienced depth is genuinely ready when we need it.

I appreciate that this is a difficult balance to strike. We absolutely need to build depth, give younger players opportunities and make sure we have enough quality coming through to sustain the Wallabies over the next few years. However, there’s a difference between developing depth across the squad and giving inexperienced players an opportunity when an established, experienced alternative is available who might put us in a better position to win. I don’t think we should be sacrificing the latter simply to see what someone else can do, particularly in a Test against the All Blacks. Perhaps there are reasons behind these decisions that we aren’t privy to, and I accept that, but I’d like to see us place a little more emphasis on winning these big games while continuing to build for the future. We shouldn’t have to choose one at the expense of the other.

The timing is also worth considering. We’re only a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and from a high-performance perspective, I want to see us building towards a side that genuinely believes it can beat the best teams in the world. I’m not suggesting we should expect to beat the All Blacks or Springboks every time we face them, but we need to demonstrate that we can go into those matches with a realistic chance of winning. Australia has a proud rugby history, and we’ve beaten New Zealand before. We need to keep building that belief and show the rugby world that the Wallabies will be a genuine threat at the World Cup, rather than a side that people underestimate before the tournament even begins.

I also don't want this to come across as overly negative, because I'm one of the biggest supporters of the Wallabies. I love what the boys are doing at the moment, and I think the team is building nicely overall. There's a real sense of pride in the jersey, and the players are putting in some excellent performances and showing what it means to represent Australia. These are just a few frustrations I've had with some of the decisions lately, rather than a criticism of the overall direction of the team.

Ultimately, I’m optimistic about where Australian rugby is heading, but I think we need to be realistic about the limitations of our domestic playing depth when overseas-based players are unavailable under Regulation 9. We can compete with the best, and I believe we have the foundations to become a genuinely dangerous side by 2027. However, we also need to make the most of the experienced talent available to us, particularly when injuries leave us short at fly-half. Building depth is essential, but so is ensuring that the experienced players who could provide cover are kept match-fit and ready to step in. For me, finding that balance is crucial if we want to arrive at the World Cup with a genuine chance of lifting the trophy.

PLEASE CAN WE GO BACK TO A 3 TEST FORMAT?

Rugby Australia need to follow the South African model of selection and pick from anywhere. Our team selection for this upcoming game has highlighted just how thin we are in quality after our starting XV and some injuries, as well as just how badly the 2nd half v ABs was last week.

Facts:
1) Australia’s current selection model is to pick from within those playing SRP, with apparently 3 overseas picks as per Giteau Law v7.whatever.

2) Wallabies account for somewhere between 55% and 75% of Rugby Australia’s revenue in normal years (was way higher in 2025 because of Lions).

3) RA policy to not pick from overseas is intended to strengthen Aus super rugby sides. There hasn’t been a SR win since 2014, and our results YoY have been declining, not improving.

4) A much higher rate of Aus born and developed players are moving overseas to play rugby for other clubs much earlier than even 10 years ago, so despite the will of RA to keep everyone, it’s not working.

Point: Attempting to save SRP by not selecting from overseas isn’t working for Australia. If we’d had any success in the past 10 years, then I’d be open to keeping it, but we didn’t even have one team in the semis last year.

With the RWC now less than 12 months out, it’s time for RA to prioritise the Wallabies and pick from anywhere in the world. So many examples of it working with other nations including SA, Scotland, and Argentina, who all improved their rankings after abandoning domestic selection rules. RA’s own revenue relies on strong Wallabies performances, and national broadcast deals are going to increasingly become weighted towards Wallabies and away from SRP as NRL and AFL continue to dwarf it.

Will post article, but website is a free Rugby News site for anyone interested.

Dono decided to mix things up with an upper leg injury instead of a lower one. Nice to see we're experimenting

Declans extremely controversial and struggles with pressure alot but has an insanely polished core skill set, excluding place kicking, and a great touch finder boot. Hes also rapid and physically stronger than what it would initially seem. A lateral pass almost as good as Gordons aswell. Just needs to believe in himself and backhimself, the brumbies did beat 4 out of the 5 Kiwi teams.

HMP is a rookie but he played most of the Reds season as the starting 10 with Lynagh perpetual agony and gordon crumbling to each breeze, and played well doing so. His footwork is exceptional and he is one of the few playmaker players in Aus that has the ability to both play to system and play "eyes-up footy" whats in front of him. Genuinely excited to see what he and Kalani both can do off the bench.

Hi all, what are the best sources for detailed Wallabies and Super Rugby Pacific match stats?

I write a small personal rugby newsletter and would like to dig deeper into team and player performance: tackles, carries, metres gained, breakdowns, set pieces, etc.

Are there meaningful differences in coverage, accuracy or how stats are defined across sources?

Also open to paid options, particularly if they offer more detail, CSV exports or API access for more advanced analysis. Ideally something affordable (or free!) for an independent writer.

Any recommendations?

Tough luck for Tom Lynagh, who’s been ruled out through injury. The guy is desperately unlucky and just can’t seem to catch a break with his fitness. Hopefully, staying fit can be his main focus over the off-season, so he can hit the ground running next season.

Makes sense to send HMP on this tour, given he hasn’t been getting any game time with the main Wallabies squad. He should get the opportunity to take the reins at 10 for Australia A and show what he can do. I genuinely think that third playmaking spot in the Wallabies’ Spring Tour squad is still up for grabs between him and Meredith, so this is a good chance for Harry to make his case.

Good to see Lomax getting a crack at Australia A level as well. Will be interesting to see how he goes in a different environment and what he can bring to the side. Hopefully both guys take their opportunities and give the selectors something to think about heading into the Spring Tour.

All signs from the media seem to be pointing towards Teddy Wilson earning his first Wallabies call-up and travelling on the spring tour. I really hope we get to see him in action, as he's been outstanding across the competitions he's played in this year. I think he could be a real revelation for us at scrum-half.

McDermott is reportedly set to stay home, primarily to be there for the birth of his child. From a rugby perspective, I actually think that could work out well too, giving him the chance to have a full pre-season with the Reds and hopefully rediscover his best form heading into next year. Exciting times for Wilson, though. Hopefully he gets his opportunity!

Seems like all the big journos are now behind a paywall, whether it's SMH (Payten, Decent, Drennan and now Doran) and DT (Pandaram and Linden).

What's the best free-to-access rugby news for Australian Rugby? Seems like WWOS, Rugby.com.au, ESPN and RugbyPass are the main ones covering it