With their Hong Kong clash doubling as the final preparation for the traditional end-of-year tour, both New Zealand and Australia are set to make the third-ever Bledisloe Cup match to be played on neutral soil a “ferocious” one.

New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew said, “Both the New Zealand and Australian rugby unions are fully supportive of the Hong Kong fixture and are committed to bringing one of world rugby’s legendary matches back to Asia. The upcoming end of year tour is vital for both teams going into 2011 and I know the All Blacks will be looking to put in a strong performance to kick off their tour on the back of a successful Tri Nations campaign.”

After New Zealand’s last gasp 23-22 victory last week in Sydney, both teams have everything to play for as they finalize their preparations for their tours of the northern hemisphere. On October 30, spectators will be treated to some ferocious on-pitch action amid the famous rugby atmosphere of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Stadium.

ARU Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill concurred: “The quality of Rugby in this year’s Bledisloe Cup series has been outstanding. These are the best two teams in world Rugby and the one-point separating them in Sydney last Saturday night underlines the closeness of the contest.

There is also no doubt that the game, as it is currently being played in the Southern Hemisphere, is as exciting as it has been at any other time in memory. At the international level there has been a plethora of tries and consistently scintillating attacking Rugby.

However, the ferocity of the trans-Tasman matches has not been compromised whatsoever. We’re confident the match in Hong Kong will be another entertainment package no sporting fan would want to miss.”

Trevor Gregory, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) said, “The HKRFU and thousands of sports fans in Hong Kong and around the region are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the teams and we look forward to welcoming them with Hong Kong’s famous hospitality.

With the world’s two top ranked teams set to contest the latest match in their century-old rivalry, the Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong promises to be another historic moment in Hong Kong rugby and I encourage people to get their tickets today.”

To date, over 14,000 tickets have been sold for the 40,000-seater Hong Kong Stadium and sales are expected to increase in the coming weeks. The HKRFU has confirmed that a sponsorship announcement will be made soon, reinforcing the strong interest in the region in the Bledisloe Cup Hong Kong match.

Tickets are available through HKTicketing

The Springboks’ last minute loss to the Wallabies in the hosts’ final Tri-Nations encounter on Saturday evening made the Sunday Morning Post‘s sports-pages on Sunday.

With Hong Kong again hosting the final Bledisloe Cup match in October this year (the previous such match took place in 2008) there is renewed interest in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier competition, the Tri-Nations.

In fact, with Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup ticket sales reported to be sluggish this year (in part due to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand next year) the Hong Kong rugby authorities are pinning their hopes on the Wallabies beating their Trans-Tasman opponents in next week’s final Tri-Nations encounter.  This, they hope, would make the third-ever Bledisloe Cup to be played on neutral ground more of a contest with the All Blacks having totally dominated the Tri-Nations this year.

Two years ago I attended the first-ever Bledisloe Cup match (New Zealand vs. Australia) to be played outside of these two countries.

The match, in terms of interest and exposure for the two brands, was a resounding success and last year the powers-that-be decided to try that experiment on Japanese soil.  I don’t know whether the New Zealand and Australian rugby boards were not impressed with their Japan outreach experiment, but thanks be to the rugby-gods that they decided to return the final match of the Bledisloe Cup series here in Hong Kong.

With the addition of the Hong Kong match, the Bledisloe Cup will be decided over four Tests in 2010.

Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to meet three times as part of the Tri-Nations Series and then contest the fourth and final match in Hong Kong.

The 2010 Bledisloe Cup Series

Match 1: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne (July 31)

Match 2: AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Aug 7)

Match 3: ANZ Stadium, Sydney (September 11)

Match 4: Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong (October 30)

Tickets

SA Association

Last I heard, the Southern African Association in Hong Kong (SAAHK) received another ticket allocation this year.  Please contact the SAAHK’s Bruce Fowler for more information.

Hong Kong Public Sales

From 2nd August onwards (10:00am) residents in Hong Kong (Hong Kong ID Card holders) will be able to purchase tickets through HK Ticketing online: www.hkticketing.com , by phone : +852 31 288 288 or at HK Ticketing Outlets including Box Offices and Tom Lee Music Stores.

For further details, please go to www.hkticketing.com

Pricing

The entire stadium will be reserved seating. Customers will be able to choose from and reserve the available seats in the stadium and a range of price options will apply depending on the location of the seats. Tickets are priced at HK$1,250, HK$1,000 and HK$880.

Bledisloe Cup

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Kick off at 4.30pm HKT (7.30pm AEDT; 9.30pm NZT).

Here are some pictures from the 2008 Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong:

Click here to visit the Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong website

The IRB Sevens World Series resumes in New Zealand this weekend with the NZI Sevens in Wellington.

 For Sevens fans here in Hong Kong the 3rd tournament of the Series starts at a more respectable time (07:45 HK) on both days.  DSTV’s Supersport Channel 1 will show all the games LIVE and you will probably be able to watch it at your nearest watering hole if they open that early.  Delaney’s Irish Bar in Tsim Sha Tsui does and you can catch all the action there while having their popular Irish Breakfast (with black pudding Eish!)

Day 1: 5 February/Day 2: 6 February 2010

The Supersport 1 schedule for Day 1 of the NZI Sevens for South African viewers:

(add 6 hours for HK time)

01:45-03:25 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 1 – 4

03:25-04:55 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 5 – 8 (SA vs. Nui Game 8)

04:55-06:25 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 9 – 12

06:25-07:50 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 13 – 16 (SA vs. Wales Game 16)

07:50-09:45 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 17 – 20

09:45-11:30 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Games 21 – 24 (SA vs. NZ Game 24)

The Supersport 1 schedule for Day 2 of the NZI Sevens for South African viewers:

01:45-03:30 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Bowl QF

03:30-05:10 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Cup QF

05:10-05:50 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Shield SF

05:50-06:35 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Bowl SF

06:35-07:35 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Plate SF

07:35-08:30 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Cup SF

08:30-09:00 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Shield Final

09:00-09:30 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Bowl Final

09:30-10:00 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Plate Final

10:00-11:00 IRB 7s World Series: New Zealand Sevens – Cup Final

To access this schedule, simply go to BlitzBokke.com and click on BROADCAST TIMES at the top of the page.