For anyone asking when the All Blacks’ next game is, the short answer as of late September 2026 is the Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday 10 October 2026. This guide walks New Zealand rugby fans through that fixture and the rest of a marathon 2026 calendar — a clean sweep of July home Tests, a bruising four-Test tour of South Africa, the trans-Tasman Bledisloe series, and a November trip north that feeds into the brand-new Nations Championship finals in London. Below you will find verified fixture tables, confirmed results, venue details for the new stadium in Christchurch, and a plain-English explanation of how the 12-team global competition actually works.
When Is the All Blacks’ Next Game?
After a demanding southern-hemisphere winter, the All Blacks return to home soil in October for the Bledisloe Cup, the annual two-Test contest against Australia. The first Test — and the team’s next fixture — is at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 10 October 2026, kicking off at 7:10 PM (NZDT). The series then moves across the Tasman to Accor Stadium in Sydney on Saturday 17 October.
The Bledisloe Cup remains New Zealand’s most important bilateral prize. The All Blacks have held the trophy continuously since 2003, and the Auckland Test also puts one of sport’s longest home records on the line: Eden Park is often called “The Fortress,” and you can read more about how the team piles on All Blacks scoring and results across a season. After the July home wins, that unbeaten Eden Park run now stands at 53 Tests, a streak stretching back to an 18-18 draw with South Africa in 1994.
Quick Facts
| Fixture | All Blacks v Australia — Bledisloe Cup, Test 1 |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday 10 October 2026 |
| Kick-off | 7:10 PM (NZDT) |
| Venue | Eden Park, Auckland |
| Competition | Bledisloe Cup 2026 (two-Test series) |
| At stake | The Bledisloe Cup and Eden Park’s 53-Test unbeaten streak |
| Second Test | Saturday 17 October 2026, Accor Stadium, Sydney |
The 2026 Season So Far: A Winning Winter, a Costly Spring
To understand where the All Blacks sit heading into October, it helps to recap the season already played under head coach Scott “Razor” Robertson. New Zealand began the year in commanding form at home before a tough four-Test series in South Africa exposed the fine margins at the very top of the world game.
July Home Tests: A Perfect Start
The All Blacks won all three July Tests, which doubled as their home leg of the new Nations Championship. The season opened in Christchurch with a tight, high-scoring win over France, before more comfortable results against Italy and Ireland.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 4 Jul | France | One NZ Stadium, Christchurch | Won 34–32 |
| Sat 11 Jul | Italy | Hnry Stadium, Wellington | Won 47–17 |
| Sat 18 Jul | Ireland | Eden Park, Auckland | Won 40–21 |
The South Africa Tour: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry
In August and September the All Blacks undertook a long-format tour of South Africa, branded “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.” The eight-match schedule paired four warm-up games against United Rugby Championship (URC) franchises — the club-style sides that play in that competition — with a four-Test series against the world-champion Springboks. New Zealand won every franchise fixture and the opening Test, but South Africa recovered to win the last three, including a landmark match staged in the United States, to take the series 3–1.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 7 Aug | DHL Stormers | DHL Stadium, Cape Town | Won 38–21 |
| Tue 11 Aug | Hollywoodbets Sharks | Kings Park, Durban | Won 54–0 |
| Sat 15 Aug | Vodacom Bulls | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Won 50–19 |
| Sat 22 Aug | South Africa (1st Test) | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Won 33–16 |
| Tue 25 Aug | Lions | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Won 41–35 |
| Sat 29 Aug | South Africa (2nd Test) | DHL Stadium, Cape Town | Lost 26–33 |
| Sat 5 Sep | South Africa (3rd Test) | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg | Lost 24–29 |
| Sat 12 Sep | South Africa (4th Test) | M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (USA) | Lost 28–43 |
Losing a series to the Springboks sharpens the focus for the rest of 2026. The set-piece battle was decisive in South Africa, so expect New Zealand to prioritise a stable scrum and lineout — the set-piece platform from which most Test points are built — through the October and November windows.
Key Points
- Next game: All Blacks v Australia, Bledisloe Cup Test 1, Saturday 10 October 2026, Eden Park.
- The All Blacks swept their July home Tests against France, Italy and Ireland.
- South Africa won the four-Test “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” series 3–1, including a Test in Baltimore, USA.
- Eden Park’s home unbeaten streak now stands at 53 Tests, unbroken since 1994.
- November brings the Nations Championship away leg (Scotland, Wales, England) and the Finals Weekend in London on 27–29 November.
Bledisloe Cup 2026: Defending the Cup and the Fortress
The Bledisloe Cup is contested over two Tests in October, immediately after the South African tour. New Zealand hosts the opener at Eden Park before the series concludes in Sydney a week later. Because the All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park since 1994, the Auckland fixture carries a double weight: the trophy and a 53-Test home record.
Bledisloe Cup Fixtures
| Date | Match | Venue | Kick-off (NZDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 10 Oct | Australia (Bledisloe 1) | Eden Park, Auckland | 7:10 PM |
| Sat 17 Oct | Australia (Bledisloe 2) | Accor Stadium, Sydney | Evening (TBC) |
The trans-Tasman rivalry is one of the oldest in the game and consistently draws the biggest domestic television audiences in New Zealand. A strong Wallabies side under their own rebuild makes the 2026 edition a genuine contest rather than a formality.
The Nations Championship Explained
Both the July home window and the November away tour count towards the inaugural Nations Championship, a new global tournament that launched in 2026. It is designed to give traditional Tests extra meaning by linking results across the two hemispheres into a single competition with a grand final.
How the Format Works
The competition brings together 12 nations, split into two groups of six:
- Six Nations group: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
- Rugby Championship group (plus Japan and Fiji): New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Japan and Fiji.
Each team plays the six sides from the opposite hemisphere once — three at home in July and three away in November. Those results set each nation’s ranking within its own group. The season then climaxes with a Finals Weekend, held from 27–29 November 2026 at Allianz Stadium in London, where teams are paired against the equivalent finisher from the other hemisphere. The top-ranked side from each group meets in the grand final to crown the first Nations Championship winner. The tournament is scheduled for years without a Rugby World Cup or a British & Irish Lions tour.
The November Northern Tour
The final block of the All Blacks’ year takes place in Britain in November, forming the away leg of their Nations Championship pool. New Zealand faces Scotland, Wales and England on three straight weekends, with every result affecting where the team finishes and who it meets on Finals Weekend. The Twickenham Test renews the fierce All Blacks vs England rivalry that produced a memorable 2025 contest.
Northern Tour Fixtures
| Date | Opponent | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 7 Nov | Scotland | Scottish Gas Murrayfield | Edinburgh |
| Sat 14 Nov | Wales | Principality Stadium | Cardiff |
| Sat 21 Nov | England | Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) | London |
| 27–29 Nov | Nations Championship Finals | Allianz Stadium | London |
One New Zealand Stadium: Rugby Returns to Christchurch
The July opener against France was historic for another reason: it was the first Test at One New Zealand Stadium (known during construction as Te Kaha), the covered arena that has finally given Christchurch a permanent large venue for the first time since the 2011 earthquakes destroyed Lancaster Park. The stadium officially opened on 27 March 2026, and the France Test drew a sell-out crowd of 29,152.
Venue Facts
- Capacity: 25,000 permanent seats, expandable to about 30,000 for major sport.
- Roof: A fixed roof around 32 metres above the pitch, clad in lightweight ETFE plastic, so matches are played in dry conditions whatever the Canterbury weather.
- Surface: A covered, protected pitch that suits the fast, ball-in-hand game the All Blacks prefer.
- Location: 218 Madras Street, in the central city and within walking distance of public transport.
For South Island fans, a home Test in Christchurch — complete with the haka in their own city — was a long time coming, and the venue is expected to host regular international fixtures in future seasons.
The Robertson Era: How the All Blacks Play
Since taking charge in 2024, Scott Robertson has pushed the All Blacks towards a high-tempo game built on quick ruck ball, aggressive support running and a fast-moving forward pack. Speed and accuracy at the breakdown and the ruck are central to that approach, because the quicker a team recycles possession, the less time defences have to reset.
New Zealand’s depth is a defining strength. Alongside the senior side, a second national team — the All Blacks XV — is used to give emerging players Test-style experience; there is more background on the Wikipedia page. Much of that talent comes through the provincial and Super Rugby systems, and the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season — won by the Crusaders — remains a key shop window for the black jersey.
Players to Watch in the Run Home
The Bledisloe and Northern windows will lean on a mix of experienced leaders and in-form finishers. Captain Scott Barrett anchors the forward pack, while loose forward Ardie Savea remains one of the world’s most influential players around the field. In the backline, playmaker Damian McKenzie offers goal-kicking and attacking spark at first five-eighth, and outside back Will Jordan is among the most prolific try-scorers in the modern game. With a series loss in South Africa to respond to, the closing months of 2026 are a chance for this group to finish the year strongly and set the tone before the Nations Championship’s decisive weekend in London.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When is the All Blacks’ next game?
The next game is the Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 10 October 2026, kicking off at 7:10 PM (NZDT). The second Test follows on Saturday 17 October at Accor Stadium in Sydney.
How did the All Blacks do earlier in 2026?
New Zealand won all three July home Tests against France (34-32), Italy (47-17) and Ireland (40-21). They then toured South Africa, winning every franchise game and the first Test, but lost the next three Tests, so the Springboks took the four-Test series 3-1.
What is the Nations Championship?
It is a new global tournament that began in 2026, featuring 12 nations split into a Six Nations group and a Rugby Championship group (with Japan and Fiji). Teams play the six sides from the other hemisphere, and a Finals Weekend in London on 27-29 November decides the champion.
Is Eden Park still an All Blacks fortress?
Yes. After beating Ireland in July, the All Blacks extended their unbeaten Eden Park run to 53 Tests, a streak unbroken since 1994. That record will be on the line again against Australia in the October Bledisloe Cup Test.
Who do the All Blacks play in November 2026?
They travel to Britain for the Nations Championship away leg, facing Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield (7 November), Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff (14 November) and England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (21 November), before the Finals Weekend in London.
