Boks to face All Blacks at new venue in Auckland in July

The All Blacks have confirmed that the Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks in July will be played in Auckland, while they will take on the Wallabies in Dunedin.

The Rugby Championship match between New Zealand and South Africa will be played at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, 15 July. It will be the first time that the Springboks play at the ground.

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This is due to the Fifa Women’s World Cup matches that will be played around the same time at Eden Park, forcing New Zealand Rugby to find a new venue.

The stadium is mainly used for NRL matches, but did serve as Moana Pasifika’s home ground during the 2022 Super Rugby season.

Bledisloe Cup Test

Meanwhile, the Bledisloe Cup Test against the Wallabies returns to Dunedin for the first time since 2017, in a rare afternoon home Test match that will kick off at 2.35pm (3.30am SA time) on 5 August.

“The Rugby Championship is an exciting but tough draw,” said All Blacks coach Ian Foster.

“Playing the Argentinians in Argentina is an exciting challenge after not being there since 2019. With the challenges of stadium availability in Australasia, we are delighted to play this huge South African Test at Mt Smart.

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“We believe it’s key for the connection with our fans to have this massive game in our backyard and can’t wait.

“The Dunedin Test is also equally important for us because it’s our last chance to play in front of our fans before we head off for an exciting Rugby World Cup.”

This story first appeared on sarugbymag.co.za. It has been used with permission.