Tokyo to host Bledisloe Cup match

Australia and New Zealand clashed in Hong Kong during the 2008 series

Australia and New Zealand will face each other in Tokyo on 31 October in only the second Bledisloe Cup fixture to be staged on neutral soil.

The match will be played at Tokyo's National Stadium, which seats 57,000, later this year.

It will be the fourth match in the 2009 Cup series and will precede Australia's trip to Europe in November.

The Aussies will take on England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in their first Grand Slam attempt in 25 years.

Last year, the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 19-14 in Hong Kong, their first meeting on neutral soil outside the World Cup.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew, who travelled to Tokyo for the announcement, said the match was a key money-making opportunity for the Australian, New Zealand and Japanese unions.

"Building on the success of the Hong Kong match between Australia and New Zealand last year, we have agreed with Australia and our match hosts Japan, to schedule an additional Bledisloe Cup fixture again this year with the dual aim of growing the rugby footprint internationally," said Tew.

The other Bledisloe Cup matches this year will be at Auckland on 18 July, Sydney on 22 August and Wellington on 19 September.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to a Bledisloe Cup match being staged in Tokyo in 2009

Australia coach Robbie Deans, a former All Black, said the Tokyo match was an exciting development for the game in Asia and around the globe.

"It is an opportunity for the rugby-loving public of Japan to see two of the best teams in action up close, while also having a rare opportunity to sample the great history which accompanies the Bledisloe Cup rivalry," he stated.

"Not only does it break up the trip between Australia and our Grand Slam tour destinations, it also provides the team with the chance to represent their country in a new arena, and show the Japanese first hand why the Wallabies are one of the game's most respected teams."

The Wallabies have never played a Test on Japanese soil.

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