New Zealand set to host State of Origin game in 2027

The State of Origin* will soon be heading overseas for the first time in 40 years.

Code Sports has revealed that the New Zealand government has signed a historic deal to bring the State of Origin across the ditch to New Zealand in 2027, in a $5 million deal with the NRL.

Documents have been sent to NRL lawyers to be rubber-stamped* by the governing body with a view to staging an Origin game in New Zealand for the first time in history – and the first NSW-Queensland clash played overseas in four decades.

Not since 1987, when the Blues beat the Maroons 30-18 in an exhibition game in Long Beach, California, has the State of Origin left Australian soil.

While the historic clash between NSW and Queensland involves two Australian sides, the yearly battle comprising three games also attracts attention from Rugby League fans across the Tasman.

Premiership-winning Broncos back-rower Jordan Riki, who comes from Raglan near Waikato, said a New Zealand debut* will take State of Origin to another level.

“I promise you, it would go nuts over there,” Riki said.

“It would be an instant sellout. I know for a fact that a lot of my friends and family members over there absolutely love Origin.

“I get some people would say, ‘Why are we taking an Australian concept to New Zealand?’ but there’s a lot of Kiwis over there that are diehard NSW or Queensland supporters and they will get behind as much as people here.

“My mum loves Queensland. It would be a full house for sure.”

The multimillion-dollar move is part of the NRL’s strategic plan for international growth, including adding a Papua New Guinea side to the premiership in 2028.

The New Zealand government has paid about $5 million to secure Game Two of the 2027 State of Origin series, to be held at Auckland’s Eden Park, which holds a capacity of 50,000.

The parties were preparing for a formal announcement this month, but the New Zealand government asked for the time-frame to be pushed back and are now aiming for March.

New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon is keen to secure more major sporting and entertainment events and, five months ago, he announced a $70 million funding package to “supercharge” Kiwi tourism.

“It’s about us having a really competitive pitch* to the world … we want you here,” Luxon recently told Kiwi media.

“We have infrastructure* and facilities to support it,” he said. “Sporting events, competitive events, they are all on the table.”

Now New Zealand’s beefed-up tourism dollars have been used to secure the NRL’s $100 million showpiece – the State of Origin.

Delicate negotiations have taken place over the past year, including when to set the kick-off time, given the time zone differences between Australia and New Zealand.

It has been decided the New Zealand game will start at 9.30pm local time, which will be 7.30pm in Sydney and Brisbane.

The 2025 Origin series attracted 11.4 million viewers across the three games and that figure could be overtaken this year with the additional stream of a league-loving Kiwi audience.

Achieving a trans-Tasman* Origin will be another massive boost for the game’s growth.

As revealed by Code Sport last year, the NRL will celebrate record revenues*, north of $750 million, in the coming months, on the back of the Broncos’ drought-breaking premiership win in 2025 and Australia’s first Ashes tour in 22 years.

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GLOSSARY

• State of Origin: a yearly best-of-three NRL competition between Queensland and NSW dating back to 1982
• rubber-stamped: approved automatically without proper consideration
• debut: first time
• pitch: persuasive marketing campaign
• infrastructure: roads, transport and other essential structures and services
• trans-Tasman: the relationship between Australia and New Zealand, referring to each country being on either side of the Tasman Sea
• revenues: money made from a project or business

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QUICK QUIZ
1. Why will New Zealand host a State of Origin game in 2027?
2. Which two teams compete in the State of Origin?
3. When was the last time a State of Origin game was played overseas?
4. When was the last time a State of Origin game was played in New Zealand?
5. How many people viewed the 2025 State of Origin series?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What’s the money for?
What do you think the money that has been paid to the NRL will be used for? Write as many things as you can think of.

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
Do you think that there should be an NRL Country of Origin series between Australia and New Zealand, like State of Origin? Write a list of reasons for and against.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links English, Science, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Summarise the article
A summary can be a really good way to grab the main idea plus some key points in the article as a highlight. Think of the summary like a little advertisement or extract you could use to encourage people to read the article in detail. You want to give them an overview of the article that includes the main idea (being able to tell the audience what the article is about in one sentence), plus a few of the key points of the information.

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