The Bledisloe Cup
'Bledisloe Cup' is contested between
Australia's Wallabies and
New Zealand's All Blacks. It is named for
Lord Bledisloe, the
Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in
1931. If the All Blacks and Wallabies play each other in a non-
Tri Nations game (e.g. they are drawn to play each other at a World Cup), the Bledisloe Cup is not on offer.
The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Issac, and crafted by Walker and Hall in
London. It is the largest trophy in world rugby.
History
There is some dispute as to when the first Bledisloe Cup match was first played. The
Australian Rugby Union contend that the one-off 1931 match played at
Eden Park was first. However, no firm evidence has been produced to support this claim, and minutes from a New Zealand Union management meeting several days later record Lord Bledisloe wishing to present a cup for the All Blacks and Wallabies to play for. The
New Zealand Rugby Football Union believe that the first match was when New Zealand toured Australia in
1932.
Between 1931 and
1981 it was contested irregularly in the course of rugby tours between the two countries. New Zealand won it 19 times and Australia four times in this period. In the years
1982 to
1995 it was contested annually, sometimes as a series of three matches and other times in a single match. During these years New Zealand won it 11 times and Australia three times.
Since
1996 the cup has been contested as part of the annual Tri Nations
tournament. Until
1998 the cup was contested in a three match series: the two Tri Nations matches between these sides and a third match. New Zealand won these series in 1996 and
1997, and Australia won it in 1998.
From
1999 through
2005, the third match was not played; during those years, Australia and New Zealand played each other twice as part of the Tri Nations for the cup. If both teams won one of these games, or if both games were drawn, the cup was retained by its current holder. The non-holder had to win the two games 2-0 or 1-0 (with a draw) to regain the Cup. A criticism of this system was that with the closeness in the level of ability between the two sides, years where each team won one game each were very common (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004) and in these years, many rugby fans felt dissatisfied with one team keeping the cup in a series tied at 1-1. In 2000, the Bledisloe was retained by Australia when
John Eales kicked a goal from the sideline in the final moments of the match. Another one of the most dramatic matches was played on September 1 of 2001 at
Stadium Australia, in what would be Wallaby great John Eales' last ever test. Australians were hoping to send their skipper off in a grand style. A fairy tale ending was looking right in the first half when the Wallabies held a solid 19 to six lead over the All Blacks. However, tries to
Doug Howlett and
Pita Alatini, along with
Andrew Mehrtens kicking, saw the All Blacks back in front 26 to 22. However in the dying moments of the game no.8
Toutai Kefu scored the winning try for Australia.
2006 saw the return of the 3 game contest for Bledisloe as the Tri Nations series was extended so that each team played each other 3 times. 2007 however reverted back to the 2 game contest because of the World Cup.
Results
Note that if each team won an even amount of games in that years series then the trophy would go to the team who won the shield the previous year.
| Year | Winner/holder of Cup | Wins | Losses | Drawn |
|---|
| 1932 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1934 | 'Australia' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | 'New Zealand' | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951 | 'New Zealand' | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | 'New Zealand' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | 'New Zealand' | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1967 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | 'New Zealand' | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1978 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 'Australia' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 'Australia' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | 'Australia' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1989 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 'New Zealand' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 'Australia' | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 'New Zealand' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 'Australia' | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 'Australia' | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 'Australia' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 'Australia' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 'Australia' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 'Australia' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 'New Zealand' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 'New Zealand' | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 'New Zealand' | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 'New Zealand' (Holds) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Records
'Most titles won:'
#
New Zealand - 34
#
Australia - 12
'Longest time held by Australia:' 5 years (1998-2002)
'Longest time held by New Zealand:' 42 years (1936-1978)
References
★
Bledisloe Cup on rugby.com.au
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