“Sportingly this questions us”: a test match of the French XV against the All Blacks could be relocated… to the United States in the summer of 2025

New Zealand could relocate one of the three matches in its series against France to the United States in the summer of 2025, the president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) Florian Grill told AFP on Tuesday, confirming information from the newspaper L’Équipe.

France must play three test matches against New Zealand in the summer of 2025. But one of these meetings could take place in the United States, as had already been the case twice for the All Blacks against others teams in the past.

The 2031 World Cup in the viewfinder

“The request” of the New Zealand federation “is not finalized”said Florian Grill, estimating that “sportingly this questions us” but that he saw an interest in it “promotion du rugby” ahead of the 2031 World Cup in the United States.

In an interview with AFP during his campaign for World Rugby, the vice-president of the FFR Abdelatif Benazzi also mentioned a match “in Las Vegas” against New Zealand. “It's a specific region. They have their own sport, but women's rugby and rugby have their place. But it has to be done with Americans and also with the support of some big nations.”he had developed. Benazzi had also considered other events to be organized in the United States, such as the Nations Cup final, which will replace the summer and fall matches from 2026.