The All Blacks are to play Fiji in the opening Test of the 2005 international season, the New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed today.
The match will be played at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on Friday 10 June, a day before the British & Irish Lions play New Zealand Maori in Hamilton .
NZRU Deputy Chief Executive Steve Tew said the NZRU would also be paying up to $100,000 of the net surplus from the Fiji Test to the Fiji RFU.
"This is part of our commitment to helping Pacific Island rugby. Earlier his year we generated $330,000 for the Fijian, Tongan and Samoan rugby unions as a result of the All Blacks historic test match against the Pacific Islanders and we are keen to continue helping out in any way we can," he said.
Meanwhile, the NZRU also confirmed today that next year's All Blacks trial would be played at McLean Park , Napier on Friday 3 June, the day before the British & Irish Lions' opening match against Bay of Plenty.
"We saw the value of a trial match this year and we know the challenges that Fiji pose and so these games will also be important for us in our build-up for the British & Irish Lions," said All Blacks Coach Graham Henry.
The NZRU has also confirmed that the kick off time for the All Blacks trial, Fiji Test and all British & Irish Lions matches will be 7:10 pm (New Zealand time, 8:10 am GMT ).
The decision was made after consultation with the All Blacks coaching staff and management, British and Irish Lions management, broadcasters and travel agents, with a standard time chosen for all games to make it easier for people to organise their travel and planning.
One of the key reasons for choosing this time is due to the curfew at Wellington Airport around the second Test , and the need to facilitate those fans who have chosen to fly out after this match.
Date (2005)
Match
Venue
Kick off (GMT)
Kick off (NZ)
Fri 3 June
All Blacks trial
McLean Park , Napier
08: 10
19: 10
Fri 10 June
All Blacks v Fiji
North Harbour Stadium, Albany
08: 10
19: 10
2005 British & Irish Lions Series
Sat 4 June
Bay of Plenty v Lions
Rotorua Intl. Stadium, Rotorua
08: 10
19: 10
Wed 8 June
Taranaki v Lions
Yarrow Stadium , New Plymouth
08: 10
19: 10
Sat 11 June
NZ Maori v Lions
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
08: 10
19: 10
Wed 15 June
Wellington v Lions
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
08: 10
19: 10
Sat 18 June
Otago v Lions
Carisbrook, Dunedin
08: 10
19: 10
Tues 21 June
Southland v Lions
Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
08: 10
19: 10
Sat 25 June
All Blacks v Lions
Jade Stadium, Christchurch
08: 10
19: 10
Tues 28 June
Manawatu v Lions
Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
08: 10
19: 10
Sat 2 July
All Blacks v Lions
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
08: 10
19: 10
Tues 5 July
Auckland v Lions
Eden Park , Auckland
08: 10
19: 10
Sat 9 July
All Blacks v Lions
Eden Park , Auckland
08: 10
19: 10
