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Wellington dropped from All Blacks' 2021 Test calendar

August 3, 2021
Beauden Barrett.
All Blacks v Fiji, Steinlager Series, International Rugby Union Test Match. FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Saturday 17 July 2021.. © Copyright Photo: Jeremy Ward / www.photosport.nz

New Zealand Rugby has confirmed the second Bledisloe Test between the All Blacks and Wallabies will now also be staged at Auckland's Eden Park instead of Wellington as it was originally planned.

NZR confirmed this afternoon the All Blacks and Wallabies will now play back-to-back Tests in Auckland on Saturday 7 August and Saturday 14 August with the third Test now taking place in Perth on Saturday 28 August.

Wellington was originally scheduled to host the Saturday 28 August Test but complications with the trans-Tasman Covid-19 bubble have forced organisers to make changes.

In a further blow for Wellington fans, the All Blacks' Test against Argentina, scheduled for Saturday September 18 has also been moved and will now be played in Australia.

“While we are pleased to have some certainty around venues, we feel for our Wellington fans who will now miss out on two Tests," NZR CEO Mark Robinson said.

“It is particularly disappointing we will not be able to play in Wellington this season and we share the disappointment of fans, the venue and the city, but at short notice following the closure of the travel bubble with Australia it just proved too difficult.

“Sky Stadium, Wellington Rugby and WellingtonNZ did everything they could to try and keep the Test in Wellington, but ultimately we needed to play on Saturday 14 August and we had to make the difficult decision to shift the match to Auckland."

Robinson added the All Blacks would play in Wellington in 2022.

The All Blacks' other Test against Argentina, originally scheduled to take place at Eden Park on Saturday September 11, will also be played in Australia.

NZR confirmed the two Tests against South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday 25 September and at Eden Park on Saturday 2 October will remain.

Fans who have purchased tickets for any of the three affected Tests will receive a full refund and should expect to be contacted by the relevant ticket providers Ticketmaster and Ticketek in due course.

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