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Wallaroos to play Black Ferns in Perth Bledisloe double header in 2019

Rugby

The Wallaroos and Back Ferns will join the Wallabies and All Blacks in Perth for the first Bledisloe Cup Test in Western Australia, as international rugby makes its debut at the new Burswood stadium in 2019.

The Aug. 10 match will be the second double-header after the Wallaroos hosted the Black Ferns ahead of the Sydney and Auckland Tests in August.

Perth has staged international rugby before but has never hosted the All Blacks. Australia usually hosts the lucrative Bledisloe Cup matches on the eastern seaboard.

The 60,000-seat Perth Stadium in Burswood, however, has a large enough capacity to compete with the big venues in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

"I know many fans from across Australia and New Zealand will want to travel for this historic occasion, to experience outstanding rugby and everything that Western Australia has to offer," Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said in a statement on Thursday.

It will be the first time that the Buildcorp Wallaroos have played a Test match in Western Australia.

"We are really proud to announce that the Buildcorp Wallaroos and Black Ferns will play again in 2019 after two great Test matches this year in Sydney and Auckland."

The Wallaroos fell to the Black Ferns twice, but Wallaroos coach Dwayne Nestor hopes they will inspire the next generation.

"As a Western Australian myself I know personally how strong the Women's game is in the west and this is only going to help to inspire a whole new generation of female Rugby players in WA," Nestor said.

"Our team is building on the mantra of "influencing a generation" and we are proud of the steps we have taken with the program in 2018 but there is still a number of targets we want to hit."

Australia and the All Blacks play the third Bledisloe Cup test in Tokyo next week, with New Zealand having already wrapped up the annual series 2-0 after wins in Sydney and Auckland.

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