Forsyth Barr Stadium to host All Blacks season opening match

New Zealand Rugby has announced the All Blacks full 2024 Test schedule, which will start against England in front of home fans at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday 6th July for the first of three Steinlager Ultra Low Carb Series Tests.

This is the first time England will have played the All Blacks in Ōtepoti Dunedin for over a decade, the last time being in 2014 with the match expected to be played in front of a sold-out crowd.

Dunedin, which is the only home game in the series alongside Auckland, most recently hosted the All Blacks in August last year for the Bledisloe Cup.

That match saw 62% of its sold-out crowd come to the city from out of town, resulting in a huge economic boost with spend estimated at $12.6 million.

Enterprise Dunedin Manager John Christie expects the test against England to be equally as popular and shares “Events like this have more than just economic benefits for the city. Ōtepoti thrives in the role as host, whether it’s to welcome sports teams, their supporters, or other leisure visitors, Dunedin and its residents always step up and show that southern hospitality. The result being an engaging, vibrant city putting on an electric atmosphere in the lead up to and for the duration of the event.

“With the attraction of elite events such as this, Forsyth Barr Stadium has proven time and again it has earned its status as a world-class sporting and entertainment venue that can hold its own.”

All Blacks new Head Coach Scott Robertson added “Playing England under the roof in Dunedin is a great start for us in a world class stadium, and then we go up to Auckland where we have a great record that we are really proud of.

“We then fly off to San Diego which is exciting in itself. The Fijians know their way around the world, and they’ll come out from everywhere. I know a lot of Kiwis will make the trip as well.”

Planning had already begun for the challenge that Argentina and Australia would present during the Rugby Championship while the tour to South Africa was expected to be another highlight, Robertson said.

“We are playing up on the Highveld at Ellis Park and then down to Cape Town - they are iconic Tests and I know a lot of Kiwis will be excited about that. It is a great chance to find out about ourselves against the world champions. It’s a chance to support us locally but also internationally. It’s also a chance to get behind this team and experience it with us, which is the exciting thing about it. And be proud to wear your All Blacks jersey no matter where we go.”

The All Blacks will play England in a return match at Eden Park in Auckland a week after the Dunedin match before rounding out a unique third leg of the Steinlager Ultra Low Carb Series in a one-off rugby showcase in San Diego against fast-rising World Cup quarterfinalists Fiji. The All Blacks have played in San Diego once previously, against the USA in 1980.

Back to back Tests against Argentina at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday 10th August and Eden Park on Saturday 17th August respectively will kick off an All Blacks Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship defence before back to back Tests against the Springboks in South Africa. The Rugby Championship campaign concludes with Bledisloe Cup Tests in Sydney on 21st September, and Sky Stadium in Wellington on 28th September.

The 2024 campaign concludes with a Northern Tour that starts against Japan in Yokohama on 26th October and takes in four November Tests against England, Ireland, France, and Italy.

Forsyth Barr Stadium last year hosted the Black Ferns. This was the first time since 1997 that the Black Ferns played in Dunedin in what was an historic match-up between the Black Ferns and their Welsh rivals.

The match was part of the new 18-team international women’s 15s rugby competition which was held last year. WXV brought together the world’s best rugby teams into three tiers — WXV1, WXV2 and WXV3 with the WXV1 matches including three games at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium