MCG secures Bledisloe Cup return in 2027 under new Melbourne deal

The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the Wallabies and All Blacks on Saturday 31 July 2027, with Melbourne also securing a Bledisloe Cup Test in 2029 under a new multi-year agreement.

The 2027 match will kick off at 3:45pm as part of the Rugby Championship, returning international rugby union to Australia’s largest stadium following the British & Irish Lions’ visit in 2025.

The agreement between Rugby Australia, the Victorian Government and Visit Victoria completes Australia’s home Bledisloe Cup schedule for next year, ahead of the country hosting the Rugby World Cup.

The series will return to three Tests in 2027, beginning with the first ANZAC Day Bledisloe Cup match at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday 25 April.

The MCG fixture follows in July, with a third match to be played in New Zealand at a venue yet to be confirmed.

Next year’s Melbourne encounter will mark 30 years since Australia and New Zealand first met at the MCG in 1997, when 90,119 spectators attended.

All four previous Bledisloe Cup Tests at the ground have attracted more than 75,000 fans, with the teams recording two wins apiece.

Their most recent meeting at the MCG drew 83,944 spectators in July 2023, demonstrating the venue’s ability to accommodate a rugby crowd substantially larger than Australia’s regular rectangular stadiums.

That figure was surpassed when 90,307 attended the Wallabies’ second Test against the British & Irish Lions on 26 July 2025, setting a new rugby union attendance record for the ground and the largest crowd in Lions history.

With capacity for approximately 100,000 spectators, the MCG provides significant scope for another major attendance in a World Cup year.

View the 2027 Wallabies Domestic Test Schedule >

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said the return was fitting for a significant year in Australian rugby, highlighting the venue’s history and the evenly split results across its previous Bledisloe Cup matches.

The July fixture also means Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to meet at least four times in 2027.

In addition to the three Bledisloe Cup Tests, they will face each other in their second Rugby World Cup Pool A match at Accor Stadium on Saturday 9 October.

Melbourne will host eight World Cup matches, adding to the city’s international rugby program later in the year.

The Wallabies’ other confirmed home Tests before the tournament include two Rugby Championship matches against Argentina, at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 10 July and Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on 17 July.

Australia will then face Ireland at GIO Stadium in Canberra on 18 September in a World Cup warm-up match.

The MCG announcement therefore completes a five-match home Test program spread across Brisbane, Sydney, Townsville, Melbourne and Canberra before the World Cup begins.

General public tickets for the Wallabies’ 2027 home Tests went on sale at noon AEDT today, Monday 26 October, and can be purchased via the Austadiums Tickets Hub.

The additional Melbourne Test in 2029 extends the city’s Bledisloe Cup involvement beyond next year’s tournament, although its date and match arrangements have not yet been announced.

Major rugby union crowds at the MCG