The All Blacks will play the third Bledisloe Cup test in Perth next Saturday, before basing themselves in Queensland for the remainder of the Rugby Championship.
The Herald can reveal the competition, which was originally scheduled to be played in New Zealand and Australia before outbreaks of the Delta variant of Covid-19 both sides of the Tasman forced a last-minute rethink, will proceed as planned down under - despite interest in hosting it in Europe and South Africa.
New Zealand Rugby came in for fierce criticism for deciding against leaving for Perth at the weekend, after failing to secure assurance from Rugby Australia that the Rugby Championship would go ahead.
With New Zealand's borders shut amidst a nationwide lockdown due to the most recent community outbreak, the All Blacks face up to 15 weeks away from home.
The Herald understands it was confirmed at a Sanzaar board meeting on Monday night that the final test in the Bledisloe Cup, already secured for a 19th straight year following the All Blacks' back-to-back wins at Eden Park, will be played at Opta Stadium in Perth on September 4. The test doubles as the All Blacks' second clash in the Rugby Championship.