SYDNEY – One of the biggest calendar highlights in Southern Hemisphere rugby is set to unfold in Sydney this October, with the iconic Bledisloe Cup test between Australia’s Wallabies and New Zealand’s All Blacks scheduled to close out a historic four-match rugby festival on October 17. The groundbreaking event will feature four Australian national teams competing across two major formats of the sport on the same day, a first for the country’s rugby community.
The packed match schedule gets underway with Australia’s women’s national XV side, the Wallaroos, kicking off their WXV Global Series journey against a tough Scottish squad. Next up, Australia’s men’s sevens team will face off against Fiji, the only nation to claim men’s Olympic sevens gold at both the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Games. Following that matchup, Australia’s own world-title holding women’s sevens squad will go head-to-head with New Zealand’s two-time defending Olympic women’s sevens champions, setting the stage for the main event.
Rugby Australia Chief Executive Phil Waugh emphasized the unprecedented nature of the occasion during Wednesday’s official announcement, calling it a watershed moment for the sport in Australia. “This is an historic moment for Australian rugby, with all four of our teams in gold competing on the same pitch, on the same day,” Waugh said. “The day will showcase the very best of rugby with our elite male and female players across the XVs and Sevens formats taking on famous rivals from around the world.”
The high-profile October showdown comes as both headline teams are already in strong form ahead of their mid-season test commitments. The Wallabies, now led by newly appointed head coach Les Kiss, carry a four-match winning streak into their second test against Argentina this coming weekend. Across the Indian Ocean, the All Blacks currently hold a 1-1 draw in their four-test “greatest rivalry” series against South Africa’s Springboks, keeping their own momentum building ahead of the Sydney clash.
The quadruple-header is poised to draw rugby fans from across the globe, offering a full day of elite competition that highlights both XVs and sevens rugby, as well as the depth of talent across both men’s and women’s programs in the region.