Hong Kong Bledisloe will go ahead

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks holds up the Bledisloe Cup in Christchurch last month. Photo: Getty Images

HONG KONG: The fourth Bledisloe Cup Test between New Zealand and Australia will go ahead in Hong Kong next month despite sluggish ticket sales, both teams said on Wednesday.

The confirmation came after suggestions that the match could be moved to London's Twickenham stadium, with only 14,000 tickets sold so far.

"Both the New Zealand and Australian rugby unions are fully supportive of the Hong Kong fixture and are committed to bringing one of world rugby's legendary matches back to Asia," said New Zealand Rugby Union chief Steve Tew.

The upcoming end of year tour is vital for both teams going into 2011 and I know the All Blacks will be looking to put in a strong performance to kick off their tour on the back of a successful Tri Nations campaign."

After New Zealand's last-gasp 23-22 victory last week in Sydney, both teams have everything to play for as they finalise their preparations for tours of the northern hemisphere.

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill promised an edge-of-the-seat thriller at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium on October 30.

"The quality of rugby in this year's Bledisloe Cup series has been outstanding," he said.

"These are the best two teams in world rugby and the one point separating them in Sydney last Saturday night underlines the closeness of the contest.

"There is also no doubt that the game, as it is currently being played in the southern hemisphere, is as exciting as it has been at any other time in memory.

"We're confident the match in Hong Kong will be another entertainment package no sporting fan would want to miss."

The Wallabies and the All Blacks have played each other in Hong Kong and Tokyo over the last two years to generate income and try to develop rugby in Asia.

Earlier this month, O'Neill said that Hong Kong would mark the last time the two teams played four Bledisloe Cup Tests in the one year and that they were not looking to take any future Tests offshore.

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union's Trevor Gregory encouraged people to snap up tickets.

"With the world's two top-ranked teams set to contest the latest match in their century-old rivalry, the Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong promises to be another historic moment in Hong Kong rugby," he said.