Melbourne’s Potential ARU Test Deal
UPDATE: The ARU have released the June test schedule for 2012, Melbourne hosting Wales on June 16
Since May, the ARU has been releasing information about Test Match deals for the better part of the next decade. Sydney was obviously the first, followed by Brisbane and more recently Perth.
Australia’s biggest sporting market, our city, Melbourne is yet to have its deal released. However based on the information available, we can draw a pretty good conclusion.
From next year, Argentina will join the expanded Tri Nations, the Four Nations. It will reduce the numbers of tests played per team against a particular opponent, but will obviously increase the travel time for the tournament.
As it stands, in non World Cup years, countries would host 3 tests (in a 2/1 split). From next year though, there will simply be a test against each opponent. The only exception being New Zealand, as the two unions have negotiated for an extra test, too be rotated annually.
In addition, the Southern Hemisphere Rugby calendar changes again next year, as Super Rugby will be played from February to August, with a break in June for Northern Hemisphere inbound tests. Simply, the Four Nations is a September/October affair.
As I mention earlier, the ARU released the deals in this order: Sydney, Brisbane, Perth. Here is a breakdown of what each city has been allocated or bought, depending on your view of things.
| Sydney (NSW) | Brisbane/Gold Coast (QLD) | Perth (WA) | Melbourne (VIC) |
| - A Bledisloe Cup match annually (2012-2021) at ANZ Stadium - A June test fixture annually (2012-2021) at the Sydney Football Stadium. Starting with Wales in 2012 |
- A test match against South Africa or a rotated Bledisloe Cup match (2012, 2014, 2017, 2020) at Suncorp Stadium - The opening June test annually (2012-2021) at Suncorp Stadium. Starting with Wales in 2012 - The opening British & Irish Lions test match (2013) at Suncorp Stadium- Three tests against Argentina (2012, 2014, 2018) at Skilled Park |
- A test against South Africa (2012, 2014) at Patersons Stadium - A British & Irish Lions tour match against the Western Force (2013) at TBA - A test against Argentina (2013) at TBA |
- Wales in 2012 CONFIRMED - British & Irish Lions test match (2013)? |
So with that information available, lets construct a simple timeline for the next four years and see what is up for grabs:
| June #1 | June #2 | June #3 | Bledisloe #1 | Bledisloe #2 | South Africa | Argentina | |
| 2012 | Brisbane | Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Sydney | Perth | Gold Coast |
| 2013 | Brisbane (Lions) | Melbourne (Lions)? | Sydney (Lions)? | N/A | Sydney | Brisbane | Perth |
| 2014 | Brisbane | Sydney | Melbourne? | Brisbane | Sydney | Perth | Gold Coast |
| 2015 | N/A (World Cup) | N/A (World Cup) | N/A (World Cup) | N/A (World Cup) | Sydney | Brisbane | ? |
As you can see, the timeline and the breakdown contradict each other somewhat, especially in 2015, a World Cup year.
So what can Melbourne look forward too? From the above, we can pretty much see the possibilities:
- A June test match against Wales (2012)
- A British & Irish Lions test(2013)
- A June test match against TBA (2014)
- A test match against Argentina (2015)
There after will probably be a similar pattern. It’s for certain that we won’t see a Bledisloe Cup match till post 2021, this prevents what Jim Tucker 3 refers too as, “hijacking”.
Good to see we could bail out the ARU in 1997 & 1998, just after Rugby went professional. With the lack of a large capacity stadium for Bledisloe tests, with the MCG hosting two tests with 80,000+ crowd figures.
I’m not advocating that Melbourne should always have a Bledisloe Cup or Four Nations match, variety is key to retaining interest, and I’m all for boosting revenue via traditional markets. However, considering both Melbourne & Perth are both key developing markets, it isn’t unreasonable to expect rotation and a fair go.
Sources
Good article Gavin, let’s hope your predictions are correct about Melbourne getting a regular test match on the calendar. I agree it’s a shame that Bledisloe cup is not locked in on the rotation though.
hey Gavin,
Such a great if your prediction would come true and beside I will looking forward of it. Even Bledisloe cup is not successful but being part of the event would considered to be the winner.
Shame they locked in these long term deals that allow minimal for growth.
Melbourne will join the game’s elite when the world’s premier provincial competition expands to 15 teams next year and launches a new-look Conference structure with five teams based in Australia, five in New Zealand and five in South Africa…Thanks!!!
Good post.Let’s hope your predictions are correct about Melbourne getting a regular test match on the calendar.
I agree it’s a shame that Bledisloe cup is not locked in on the rotation though.Shame they locked in these long term deals that allow minimal for growth.Anyway, thanks for sharing.