Gregor Townsend’s side set for Rugby World Cup warm up clash in Dunedin
The Scotland men’s national team are set to play the mighty All Blacks on their home turf for the first time in 27 years.
The BBC have reported that Gregor Townsend’s side will take on New Zealand in Dunedin as part of their preparations for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. It will be the first time this fixture has been played in the Southern Hemisphere nation since a 48-14 win for the hosts back in July 2000.
The clash will serve as Scotland’s final match before their World Cup Pool D opener against Uruguay on Sunday, October 3 in Melbourne. They then face Ireland in Perth and Portugal in Brisbane as the team bids to make it to the knockout stage for the first time since 2015.
The All Blacks travel to Edinburgh for the first of three Nations Championship fixtures with Australia and Japan to follow. The tournament concludes with one more Test as part of ‘Finals Weekend’ at Twickenham where they will face the Southern Hemisphere team who finish parallel to them in the competition’s other league table.
Scottish Rugby have yet to officially confirm any of their 2027 Rugby World Cup warm up fixtures. The men’s national team had been due to face the All Blacks in New Zealand back in 2020 but that match was called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
What happened the last time Scotland faced the All Blacks in New Zealand?
The last two matches between Scotland and the All Blacks in New Zealand came as part of a national team tour in 2000. Ian McGeechan, in his second spell as head coach, took the Scots to a number of different venues across the country including games with the Māori All Blacks in New Plymouth and Hawke’s Bay in Napier.
They played two test matches against the All Blacks with the first being a crushing 69-20 defeat in Dunedin. The 48-14 defeat that followed at Eden Park saw Chris Paterson and Cameron Murray scoring tries while Duncan Hodge kicked both conversions.
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