Great news for the Blues and our fans that our Round 3 match against at the Brumbies in the Sky Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition, will now be here in Auckland.

The match will be on Saturday 29 May at Eden Park with kick-off of 7.15pm.

This round was originally to be played with all teams at one venue in Australia as a Super Round – but with the Covid situation at the time, it had to be re-thought.

After a strong pitch-process, the Blues secured hosting rights of this fixture.

“It’s been a lot of hard work to secure this match, and we want to acknowledge the support we have had from Auckland Unlimited to achieve this additional home fixture,” said Blues CEO Andrew Hore.

“It is an extra home game for us which gives another chance for our fans and partners to see our boys in blue perform in front of a home crowd. And it will be an opportunity with the travel bubble in place for Brumbies fans to venture across the Tasman.

“This region is a great place to visit and to live. It is a great city with something for everyone.”

Auckland Unlimited General Manager Destination Steve Armitage says it is fantastic that the trans-Tasman bubble had allowed the re-commencement of traditional rugby rivalries with the best Australia has to offer.

“Auckland always has an exciting edge when Australian Super teams are in town, and the match at Eden Park will give fans from right across the Blues region a great chance to experience more great sport in one of the world’s great rugby cauldrons,” says Steve Armitage.

While the Blues are fully focussed on the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa, they are excited and primed for the upcoming Super Trans-Tasman competition.

“We have reached out to the Brumbies who are keen to work with us to drum up some additional joint activation to bolster what we believe is a real interest in the Trans-Tasman competition,” said Hore.

“We are a team who take every competition very seriously and we want success in the Trans-Tasman contest as much as Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa. To us, it is about moving forward and achieving success.”

The Blues will reach out to members in the coming days on ticketing offers for this additional home game.

This match will be somewhat poignant as the Blues were just days away from playing the Brumbies 13 months ago in what was going to be a double header with the Warriors-Raiders at Eden Park until Covid struck.

This will be a real test of Trans-Tasman rivalries as we welcome back our Aussie foes.