The New Zealand All Blacks has played Australia’s Wallabies in Hong Kong on two occasions as part of the Bledisloe Cup.  Sadly it seems that 2010 was the last year local fans of the two Antipodean rugby greats will have seen a Bledisloe match played in the SAR.

The All Blacks and Wallabies will contest the Bledisloe Cup over three Tests under a revamped format to take effect in 2012, the New Zealand and Australian rugby unions announced Saturday.

The new arrangement replaces the present system where the Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy, is contested as part of the Tri-Nations tournament which also involves South Africa.

From next year, the third and possibly deciding match will be hosted alternately between the two countries, following their home and away clashes in the Tri-Nations.

The first additional Bledisloe Cup Test will be hosted by Australia in October 2012 and there are no plans to take it to a neutral venue as has happened in recent years.

Hong Kong fans pose with some players and the Bledisloe Cup (Pic: Mike Jansen 2010)

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the additional Test was part of a new All Blacks schedule which includes three Tests in June, the expanded Tri-Nations which takes in Argentina from 2012, and the end of year northern hemisphere tour.

“Our expectation, supported by feedback from our fans, is that a three-match Bledisloe Cup Series will be keenly followed and fits well into our season,” Tew said.

Fan research in both Australia and New Zealand supported the Bledisloe Cup being contested over a three-match series, rather than two as it was for many years prior to the expansion of the Tri Nations, Tew added.

Mike Jansen took the following pictures at last year’s Bledisloe Cup clash in Hong Kong:

(1) The Fan Day

(2) Match Day

(3) Bledisloe Cup: Hong Kong 2008

I spoke to James O’Connor at the DHL Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Fan Day last Sunday at So Kon Po.

“Mate, I just want to play. So, Robbie (Deans) if you’re out there…” the 20-year-old said a day after the Wallabies arrived in Hong Kong.

Hindsight being a perfect science, after Bledisloe Cup 4 has come and gone to Hong Kong we can but say: “And played you did, young man!”

And then some.

What a game the 26 210-strong crowd witnessed in Hong Kong on Saturday.

The Wallabies were trailing until the final seconds and facing a 4-0 series whitewash until man-of-the-moment James O’Connor converted his own injury-time try to secure the match for the Wallabies.

“I’ve been through that situation many times and I just went through my motions, my little triggers that I have been working on,” a jubilant O’Connor said after the final whistle. “It was just like every other kick.”

Tries by Quade Cooper and Adam Ashley-Cooper had put Australia in front but Jimmy Cowan and Corey Jane went over for the All Blacks to hand them a 17-12 lead at the break which was extended by Ma’a Nonu.

But a try by Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell kept Australia in touch before O’Connor’s heroics had the Australian fans roaring in delight.

“The way we went about it was the big thing, particularly James scoring the last try and scoring the last goal, which made us all a lot happier than the alternative,” Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom said.

A win in only the third trans-Tasman Test on neutral soil marks a huge boost for Australia as both sides embark on end-of-season European tours.

“The flight is a lot more pleasurable with a win than a loss,” said Aussie coach Robbie Deans.  “I guess what we got was a good response in the last 20 (minutes) which is an area we have been battling with. That was great. The boys persevered though there were occasions when they could have dropped their heads.”

After the game a disappointed All Blacks coach Graham Henry praised his opponents.

“The Wallabies played particularly well and they scored to win the game. They kept the ball and we gave away a few penalties which made it difficult for us,” he said.

“The Australians played some really good football and it was a great spectacle I would imagine.”

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw added: “I guess sometimes it comes down to one turnover… and they got the vital try at the end which was a little disappointing.”

Richie McCaw and the All Black management at the post-match conference (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Click on the PLAY button below to view our images (low res) from Bledisloe Cup 2010, Hong Kong:

I’m well settled in at the Hong Kong Stadium Media box for the 2010 edition of the 2010 Bledisloe Cup.

Despite only about 25000 tickets sold, special traffic arrangements are still in place with buses and car traffic being re-directed around the So Kon Po area.  Walking up to the Hong Kong Stadium, the energy and general vibe resembles that of a Hong Kong Sevens day.

Fans are making pitstops at 7-11′s and road-side stalls tanking up on beer and the odd hotdog along the way. 

Check here for regular updates:

Kick-off 4:40pm local time

8mins: Brilliant hands by Quade Cooper… goes over in the left-hand corner, conversion missed

(Score AUS 5 – 0 NZ)

(20 mins) Carter misses second penalty attempt

(23 mins) Adam Ashley-Cooper in for a great individual try, Giteau converts

(AUS 12 – 0 NZ)

(30 mins) Try Jimmy Cowan (NZ) Conversion good (Carter)

(AUS 12 – 7 NZ)

(24 mins) NZ 14 Corey Jane crosses for a try in the right-hand corner

Conversion good (Dan Carter)

(NZ 14 – v12 AUS)

Dan Carter converts a penalty on the stroke of half-time

((NZ 17 – 12 US)

Second Half

(13mins) Try time: Ma’a Nonu , Conversion successful (Carter) 

(NZ 24 – 12 AUS)

(20mins) Try time No.11 Drew Mitchell Conversion good (O’Connor)

(NZ 24 – 19 AUS)

Oh! What a final 5 minutes.

James O’Connor you beauty!

Try and a crucial conversion.

Australia pulls it off by beating New Zealand 26-24 after the hooter.

Nervous Aussies ahead of James O’Connor’s final conversion…

Rugby madness in Hong Kong!

Australia beat New Zealand in the final Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong.

Final score 26-24

Good on you Mates.

Tonight, in Hong Kong, we only drink XXXX!

All Blacks skipper Ritchie McCaw and the team management at the post-match press conference.

“Cheers for that final 7 points, Mate!” says skipper Rocky Elsom and his coach.  James O’Connor faces the media after helping the Wallabies break their win-less streak against the All Blacks.

(This article originally appeared on BlitzBokke.com)

If there’s one thing Hong Kongers fear… it’s fever.

As local residents, my kids have to keep a daily log of their body temperature in their school log-books. Assistants at schools across the territory also check thousands of students’ temperature as they arrive at school every morning.

However, if there’s one fever the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union encourages this week, it’s definitely the rugby kind.

The Australian Wallabies and rivals New Zealand’s All Blacks are in town ahead of their second-ever Bledisloe Cup clash in the city and as it goes with the professional game, they have been kept very busy meeting-and-greeting fans and supporters throughout the week. In-between they’ve also been keeping fit and going through their paces on the practice-pitch at So Kon Po in Causeway Bay.

The Wallabies, eager to break a looong losing-streak against their neighbours arrived in Hong Kong first (on Saturday). The Kiwis followed on Sunday moning and was immediately involved in the DHL Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Fan Day early the same morning.

My kids and I attended and took some pictures:

                       Micaela (14) and Ethan (10) with All Black Ma’a Nonu (Pic: Mike Jansen)

                       The Jansen kids with Mills Muliaina and some other bloke (lol!) (Pic: Mike Jansen)

While the state of the world’s economy as well as the recent earthquake in New Zealand are blamed for the absence of thousands of Tasman tourists from this year’s Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup match, several Aussie and Kiwi rugby greats are also in town. I attended a RWC 2011 cocktail party hosted by World Cup Ambassador and former All Black skipper (and chirper of note) Sean Fitzpatrick.

The gathering was held at The Canny Man, a basement watering hole in the heart of the Wan Chai party district. Also in attendance and trying to chirp the chirper’s speech was Australian great David Campese. This time around, however, the two former internationals combined to make the evening a very enjoyable outing.

                      Sean Fitzpatrick with Campo lurking over his shoulder (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Have a look at our DHL HK Bledisloe Cup Fans Day album:

Our friends at Rugby Asia Channel (RAC) also attended the Fans Day and put together this video:

Despite only arriving in the city this morning, the New Zealand All Blacks met their fans at the very first DHL Hong Kong 2010 Bledisloe Cup Fans Day.  Their Australian rivals who arrived yesterday also made time to pose for pictures and hand out autographs ahead of the third-ever Bledisloe Cup clash on neutral soil.

For both sides, the HK stopover will be match 1 of their respective end-of-year European Tours that come after an arduous domestic and international season of Super 14 and Tri-Nations tournaments.  Some of the players also played in the championship Sevens match of the Delhi Commonwealth Games only a few days ago, where New Zealand walked away with the Gold Medal and Australia won Silver.  

A busy week of practice sessions and media engagements await both teams for the rest of the week before they clash in the DHL Hong Kong 2010 Bledisloe Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday.

Word is that some 25 000 tickets have been sold thus far and while it means the Stadium may only be half-full come Saturday, the respective teams have promised nothing less than a test-match quality game.

“There is no such thing as a dead rubber between the All Blacks and Wallabies,” New Zealand coach Graham Henry reiterated in a tele-conference last week.

Fans who want to attend the match can still book their tickets at HKTicketing.

Kick-off is at 4:30pm

Here are some of the images I took at So Kon Po earlier today:

On Tuesday evening I attended the launch party of China’s very first Intercontinental Le Mans Cup endurance racing event at one of the city’s newest, swankiest hightspots, Republik.

The VIP cocktail party was attended by Hong Kong drivers Marchy Lee, Matthew Marsh and Darryl O’Young, business leaders, society figures, race organisers, sponsors and, of course, the media at just-opened Republik in Central.

However, the real star of the evening was not allowed inside and was parked on the street outside, to great delight of passers-by.  The Audi R8 LMS car will be driven by Lee and Marsh in the 1,000km of Zhuhai in early November.

Passers-by in Central were snapping away at the Audi R8 LMS parked outside Republik (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Hong Kong-based drivers Marchy Lee and Matthew Marsh joined Darryl O’Young on stage to answer questions about their plans for the Zuhai race.

“This race is undoubtedly the most important motorsports event ever staged in southern China,” said Marsh. “It will feature world class drivers, some incredibly powerful and beautiful racing machines and state-of-the-art technology.

“Crucially, Zhuhai is easily accessible from all over the region, including Hong Kong and Macau, and the event is an affordable and fun day out for spectators.”

“It means that tens of thousands of fans will, for the first time, witness first hand the noise, colour and excitement of Le Mans-style endurance racing.”

Lee and Marsh will form a three-man team in the KK Performance Audi R8 LMS with Malaysia’s ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong.

Canadian-born Darryl O’Young (pictured below) and British teammate Richard Westbrook will drive a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) for Prospeed Competition.

The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 1,000km of Zhuhai will be the third and final race of the 2010 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup following earlier races at Silverstone in the UK and Atlanta, USA.

After two days of practice and qualifying on 5 and 6 November, the race will be staged in front of thousands of motorsports fans on Sunday 7 November.

The world’s leading performance car manufacturers – including Audi, Peugeot, Porsche, BMW, Jaguar, Ferrari and Aston Martin – will compete across all four official Le Mans categories in prototype (P1 and P2) and grand touring (GT1 and GT2).

In addition, there are three more guest categories: Formula Le Mans, LM GT Experimental – featuring the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid, which combines traditional combustion engine with electric power – and LM GTC.

Zhuhai is a short ferry- and taxi ride from Hong Kong and can be taken from the China Ferry Terminal in Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.  You will, however, require a visa to enter Zhuhai, so contact China Travel Service in Hong Kong to apply.

Bledisloe Cup: unseen footage.

Depending how close you are to breakfast/lunch/dinner time, maybe that should read “not to be seen footage“!

Our pals over at RugbyAsia Channel takes us “behind the scenes at a Bledisloe Cup” game.

Before we show you, here’s a reminder:

Hong Kong will host one of world rugby’s great contests in October when the All Blacks and the Wallabies battle for the Bledisloe Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium.

The match will be played on Saturday, October 30, kicking off at 4.30pm local time.

Tickets are available through HKTicketing

While the accompanying picture of a smiling Colin Montgomery is enough to make anyone who knows a little about international golf think that the headline (A Brilliant photo from Ryder Cup) is what this story is all about, sorry… it is not.

With the count-down to the 2010 Hong Kong Open in Fanling, Howzit-HongKong.com, in our other guise as BlitzBokke.com posted the following story today:

(BlitzBokke.com Monday 5 October 2010)

OK, OK… so the Ryder Cup is not rugby but as Peter De Villiers so famously said: “Rugby is (also) not ballet.”

Some time ago we raved about the brilliant rugby photography coming from the Republic, especially from the lenses of one Gerhard Steenkamp.

Given that ode to the rugby lens-men, today we were suitably impressed with what came out from the recently-concluded Ryder Cup in Wales. Especially this picture:

Ja but… some of you would argue, it’s just a photograph with a glitch. A spec of dust on the unfortunate lense of an unfortunate cameraman perhaps.

Not so.

Ask the cameraman in question, one Mark Pain who snapped all the Ryder Cup action for the Daily Mail. And then some.

Seconds after he activated his shutter for this picture, Tiger Woods’ ball (GOLF ball that is) hit his lens front and centre, Mister Venter!

Said Yahoo! today:

No, it’s not staged or Photoshopped. That’s really Tiger Woods hitting a golf ball straight at the camera.

How’d it happen? By mistake.

The cameraman, Mark Pain of the Daily Mail, was in the proper position on the 18th hole when Woods flat-out duffed his shot. The ball hit Pain’s camera and dropped to the ground. But unlike many instances when Woods and caddy Stevie Williams have taken issue with photographers, Tiger had nothing to say here. He knew he was in the wrong, not Pain.

While here at BlitzBokke.com HQ we appreciate the lengths at which sports photographers would go for THAT shot, all we could should about after seeing this pic was:

Who the hell was that bloke with the cigar and the Magnum mustache?!

With their Hong Kong clash doubling as the final preparation for the traditional end-of-year tour, both New Zealand and Australia are set to make the third-ever Bledisloe Cup match to be played on neutral soil a “ferocious” one.

New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew said, “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. 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 finalize their preparations for their tours of the northern hemisphere. On October 30, spectators will be treated to some ferocious on-pitch action amid the famous rugby atmosphere of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Stadium.

ARU Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill concurred: “The quality of Rugby in this year’s Bledisloe Cup series has been outstanding. 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. At the international level there has been a plethora of tries and consistently scintillating attacking Rugby.

However, the ferocity of the trans-Tasman matches has not been compromised whatsoever. We’re confident the match in Hong Kong will be another entertainment package no sporting fan would want to miss.”

Trevor Gregory, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) said, “The HKRFU and thousands of sports fans in Hong Kong and around the region are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the teams and we look forward to welcoming them with Hong Kong’s famous hospitality.

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 and I encourage people to get their tickets today.”

To date, over 14,000 tickets have been sold for the 40,000-seater Hong Kong Stadium and sales are expected to increase in the coming weeks. The HKRFU has confirmed that a sponsorship announcement will be made soon, reinforcing the strong interest in the region in the Bledisloe Cup Hong Kong match.

Tickets are available through HKTicketing

The Springboks’ last minute loss to the Wallabies in the hosts’ final Tri-Nations encounter on Saturday evening made the Sunday Morning Post‘s sports-pages on Sunday.

With Hong Kong again hosting the final Bledisloe Cup match in October this year (the previous such match took place in 2008) there is renewed interest in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier competition, the Tri-Nations.

In fact, with Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup ticket sales reported to be sluggish this year (in part due to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand next year) the Hong Kong rugby authorities are pinning their hopes on the Wallabies beating their Trans-Tasman opponents in next week’s final Tri-Nations encounter.  This, they hope, would make the third-ever Bledisloe Cup to be played on neutral ground more of a contest with the All Blacks having totally dominated the Tri-Nations this year.