Hong Kong Stadium Became the First Stadium Outside New Zealand and Australia to Host the Bledisloe Cup

Nearly every year, since 1932, Australia’s Wallabies and New Zealand’s All Blacks have competed against each other in a mini-competition that came to be known as the Bledisloe Cup. As of 2025, New Zealand has won the Bledisloe Cup a total of 47 times in 63 editions, while Australia has won 9 times. The remaining 7 confrontations ended in a draw.

Although the format of the competition has varied over time, the games have always been played in either Australia or New Zealand. However, in 2008, for the first time in its history, the Bledisloe Cup was partially held outside of either country.

The first three games of the competition were held in Australia and New Zealand, as was customary. However, in an effort to promote rugby in Asia, the fourth game was held in Hong Kong. Having hosted the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1997 and 2005, and hosting the very popular Hong Kong Sevens annually, Hong Kong was no stranger to rugby. With a seating capacity of 40,000, Hong Kong Stadium was the venue of choice and attracted a crowd of 39,000.

Hong Kong Stadium was again chosen to host the fourth game of the 2010 Bledisloe Cup. Unfortunately, the game was canceled as it failed to attract sufficient ticket sales.