Christchurch will host one of its biggest sporting nights in years tonight, as the All Blacks take on France in the first Test match to be played at the city’s new One New Zealand Stadium.

The sold out clash kicks off at 7.10pm and marks the start of the All Blacks’ 2026 season, as well as the opening of the inaugural Nations Championship.

For Christchurch, however, the occasion carries even greater significance.

It will be the All Blacks’ first Test at a large, permanent stadium in Canterbury since the 2011 earthquakes brought the Lancaster Park era to an end, and the first All Blacks Test in the city since New Zealand played Argentina in 2022.

The 30,000 capacity stadium sold out in just four hours when tickets were released through phased presale and general sale windows in March, underlining the demand for Test rugby’s return to the city.

Tonight will also usher in a new era for the All Blacks, with head coach Dave Rennie naming a side combining significant Test experience with emerging talent.

Ardie Savea will captain the team from number eight, while Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor earns his 107th Test cap in front of a home Canterbury crowd.

Ruben Love has been handed his first All Blacks start at first five eighth, combining with Cam Roigard in the halves, while Damian McKenzie starts at fullback and Will Jordan lines up on the right wing.

The All Blacks could also celebrate two new internationals, with uncapped prop Xavier Numia and outside back Fehi Fineanganofo named on the bench.

Rennie said the significance of opening the season in Christchurch was not lost on the team.

“It is an honour to play the first Test match at the new Christchurch stadium and to bring the All Blacks back to this proud rugby region,” he said.

“What a way to start our season, playing under the roof in front of a sold out stadium.”

France arrive with plenty of history behind them in Christchurch.

The two nations have met 67 times, with the All Blacks winning 51 of those encounters. France have beaten New Zealand just four times on New Zealand soil. Tonight will be France’s 10th Test in Christchurch, where the All Blacks have lost to them only once, a 22 8 defeat at Lancaster Park in 1994.

The French last played in Christchurch 13 years ago, when the All Blacks recorded a commanding 30-0 victory in 2013.

The match is also the beginning of something entirely new in international rugby.

The Nations Championship brings together 12 leading Test nations, with New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan forming the southern group, alongside northern heavyweights England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy. The competition is being staged across July and November before a Finals Weekend.

The occasion has already spilled beyond the stadium, with All Blacks activities taking place across central Christchurch today, including a tram takeover, a Riverside Market fan zone and a public stadium walk in ahead of the team’s arrival.

Gates at One New Zealand Stadium open at 5pm, with welcoming proceedings from 7pm ahead of the 7.10pm kick off.

For a city that lost its major rugby home in the earthquakes and waited more than a decade for a permanent replacement, tonight is about much more than 80 minutes of rugby.

The All Blacks are back in Christchurch.

And this time, they have a new home.