BLEDISLOE CUP SPECIAL / Rugby titans to clash in Tokyo on.

BLEDISLOE CUP SPECIAL / Rugby titans to clash in Tokyo on Oct. 31

Yomiuri

Rugby fans, this is one match you won't want to miss. One of the fiercest rivalries in world rugby is coming to Tokyo for the first time as the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies lock horns in the fourth match of this season's Bledisloe Cup series. These rugby powerhouses--New Zealand is currently ranked No. 2 in the world and won the inaugural World Cup in 1987, while Australia is ranked No. 3 and won the Webb Ellis Cup in 1991 and 1999--boast star-studded lineups featuring the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Matt Giteau and George Smith that will be playing for keeps with the Bledisloe Cup on the line.

The match, which is supported by The Yomiuri Shimbun, will be played at Tokyo's National Stadium on Oct. 31.

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Bledisloe Cup more than a trophy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Bledisloe Cup has become a prized symbol of rugby supremacy between Australia and New Zealand, two Southern Hemisphere rivals and rugby powers that have scrapped over the trophy since 1931.

The Bledisloe Cup was presented in 1931 by the then governor general of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, as a token of goodwill and rivalry between the trans-Tasman nations. Since then, they have played 114 matches in 49 series for the …