Aussie, NZ women players to grace Bledisloe stage

SYDNEY: Australia and New Zealand’s women’s rugby teams will play showcase Tests ahead of this year’s Bledisloe Cup matches in Sydney and Auckland, officials said Tuesday, hailing a “pivotal moment” for the women’s game.

The Wallaroos and Black Ferns will contest the Laura O’Reilly Cup as part of two double-headers when the men’s teams meet on August 18 and 25, they said.

“This is another pivotal moment for women’s fifteens rugby,” Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle said in a statement.“Securing this year’s two-Test series is another important marker as we prepare our bid to host the next women’s Rugby World Cup in 2021.”

The announcement comes as women’s rugby grows in popularity, with the world champion Black Ferns set to receive professional contracts and the inaugural women’s Super W league recently concluded in Australia.

The Sydney Test will be the Wallaroos’ 50th, and will also be the first time they have played in a double-header fixture with the Wallabies at home.“Having our two top sides take on the Aussies in the same night is something special and to be able to schedule double Test matches both home and away is a real bonus,” New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said.

Australia and New Zealand first played double-header men’s and women’s Tests in Auckland in 2016, but this will be the first time they have held such fixtures back to back.The Wallabies last won the trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup in 2002 against the dominant All Blacks, while the Wallaroos are yet to lift the Laurie O’Reilly Cup.New Zealand Rugby is set to announce the first group of Black Ferns players who will receive professional contracts ahead of their training camp in mid-June.