The Black Ferns have marked one year until their Rugby World Cup title defence with confirmation they'll open their campaign at Eden Park.
World Rugby recognised the 365-day mark by confirming this morning the Black Ferns will feature on the opening day of the tournament on Saturday September 18, 2021.
Eden Park and the Northland Events Centre in Whangārei will host a combined six matches on opening day, including the Black Ferns fixture.
Black Ferns lock Eloise Blackwell told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning the team was excited to begin their World Cup campaign at a venue steeped in New Zealand rugby history.
"It'll be an extremely special occasion," Blackwell said.
"Any chance we get to play at home is what we hope for and what we play for and running out in front of our friends and family is really hard to describe.
"But it would be an icing on the cake."
Today's announcement comes after New Zealand Rugby announced the revised match schedule for the Black Ferns for the remainder of this year which features a Probables v Possibles match and two games against a New Zealand Barbarians side.
What it doesn't feature though is any Tests against international opponents which coach Glenn Moore admitted was "disappointing".
"It's frustrating - there's obviously a lot of things going on with Covid having an influence on so many things.
"We've had many plans this year for Test matches and for lots of different reasons they keep changing but we also know we have to do the best we can to prepare."
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