The All Blacks will play 14 Tests next year in Scott Robertson’s first campaign, including two in South Africa and three away against Northern Hemisphere heavyweights England, Ireland and France.
Robertson’s first task as head coach will be to prepare his side for two Tests at home against England in July plus one against Fiji which could be played here or abroad.
The All Blacks will likely play the Boks - who beat them 12-11 in October’s dramatic World Cup final - in Johannesburg and Cape Town. As usual, there will also be two Tests each against Argentina and Australia as part of the Rugby Championship.
Robertson’s men will also play Japan in Tokyo and Italy on their end of year tour. The latter may be played somewhere other than Rome, where the All Blacks usually play the Azzurri.
The details were provided by New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson in an update to the media.
Black Ferns v Australia, maybe England
Robinson also confirmed the Black Ferns would again feature in the Pacific Four series against Australia, Canada and the United States, with the top three teams from that tournament going on to contend the WXV 1.
They will likely play a standalone Test against Australia as well, making up the Laurie O’Reilly Cup series.
“There’s a little bit more work to do with the Black Ferns’ schedule still, but we’re looking at eight, hopefully nine, Test matches for them,” Robinson said.
He confirmed one possibility was a Test against England at Twickenham, a clash that would be highly anticipated given the rivalry between the two sides.
The Black Ferns beat England in last year’s World Cup final at Eden Park, with England gaining revenge this year in the WXV 1.
“We’re working really hard on it,” Robinson said, of making the Twickenham Test.
“I was in contact with [English Rugby Football Union chief executive] Bill Sweeney last week on a number of different things. They want the game to go ahead, so do we. We’re just waiting to see how WXV lines up and where this test match would sit in relation to that.
“We’re both hugely excited about the growing rivalry between those two teams."
Robinson, speaking after a NZ Rugby board meeting, said the possibility of changing eligibility rules for All Blacks playing overseas had not been discussed.
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