Rugby Australia has officially handed in a request demanding that New Zealand Rugby relinquishes the hosting rights of the two Bledisloe Cup Tests set to be staged in New Zealand next month.

Sanzaar had already awarded the Rugby Championship hosting rights to Australia, while the first two out of the three annual Bledisloe Cup Tests are scheduled to be played in New Zealand and the last one to take place in Australia.

But according to a report on Newshub, Rugby Australia has formally requested that the two Tests be stripped from NZR and handed to them, a move that would mean New Zealand will have no international rugby on home soil this year.

This latest dispute originates from NZR’s insistence to play the first Bledisloe Cup Test on 10 October – just five days after the Wallabies’ quarantine period would end.

‘If New Zealand came here, both sides are going into a bubble for two weeks with unrestricted training, the preparation is identical,’ Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said.

Photo: EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON