Wednesday 16 June has been confirmed as the date for Auckland's State of Origin debut, with the NSW Blues and Queensland Maroons to play at the city's premier venue of Eden Park, which can have a capacity of up to 60,000 people with temporary seating in place.
Auckland was first announced as a 2027 Origin host city in February.
The event is being co-funded by both the New Zealand federal government and Auckland Council with a significant number of Australian tourists expected to head over for the festivities.
The date has been locked in almost one year in advance so that the ARLC can launch the sale of travel packages this Tuesday.
The ARLC also confirmed that the New Zealand Warriors will play a Sunday afternoon NRL game three days before Auckland Origin as part of a week-long rugby league festival in Auckland.
The Warriors have not played an NRL game at Eden Park since 2014 but are set to return on Anzac Day (Sunday April 25) to take on an opponent yet to be determined.
Flashscore understands that the Auckland Origin game is due to kick off at 9:30pm local time to ensure a 7:30pm start for east coast audiences, leading to a very late Wednesday night for the tens of thousands of spectators.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
