Historic rugby quadruple-header set for Sydney, capped by Wallabies against All Blacks

SYDNEY (AP) — The Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks will meet in a Bledisloe Cup test to cap a rugby quadruple-header in Sydney on Oct. 17 that will kick off with Australia's women's XV against Scotland and followed by the men's and women's sevens teams each taking on two-time Olympic champions.

“This is an historic moment for Australian rugby, with all four of our teams in gold competing on the same pitch, on the same day,” Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said Wednesday. “The day will showcase the very best of rugby with our elite male and female players across the XVs and Sevens formats taking on famous rivals from around the world.”

The four-game lineup starts with the Wallaroos opening their WXV Global Series campaign against Scotland. The men's sevens team will then take on Fiji — gold medalists from the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics — and then Australia's world champion women's sevens squad will take on two-time defending Olympic champion New Zealand.

The Wallabies, under new head coach Les Kiss, take a four-game winning streak into the second test against Argentina this weekend. The All Blacks are tied 1-1 in a four-test “greatest rivalry” series against the Springboks in South Africa.

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New Zealand's Fabian Holland, left, is tackled by South Africa's Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, right, and his teammate during a second Test rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand, in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

New Zealand's players perform the Haka during an international friendly rugby match between Lions and New Zealand, in Johannesburg, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Australia Josh Canham catches the ball during a rugby test match against Argentina in Jujuy, Argentina, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Australia's players celebrate after winning a rugby test match against Argentina in Jujuy, Argentina, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top diplomat said Wednesday that an attempted attack on a German airport blamed on Russia appears to be “state sponsored terrorism,” as EU countries weighed their response.

The German government on Tuesday blamed Russia for the attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 using a drone laden with explosives and announced it would shut down a Russian consulate among other measures.

The drone was found near a Ukrainian plane and the device was defused. German officials said at the time that the incident posed a new level of danger.

“It is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about this,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc’s defense ministers in Ireland.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

The EU already is planning to impose sanctions on more people over Russia’s war on Ukraine and has “in the pipeline 1,600 listings for the military complex of Russia, and maybe there are more to be added,” Kallas said.

The nature of the attempted attack and its attribution to Russia appear to warrant a new approach from the EU and perhaps NATO, but the member nations remain cautious about being dragged into open conflict with the nuclear armed country.

The EU has slapped almost two dozen packages of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting roughly 3,000 people and entities, including President Vladimir Putin, several oligarchs who back him and scores of Russian lawmakers.

Russian banks and financial institutions have been hit, as well as hundreds of ships that make up a shadow fleet illicitly shipping oil to fuel Putin’s war effort, and many companies, notably energy firms and drone manufacturers.

The measures mostly concern asset freezes and travel bans. People and companies in countries considered backers of Russia are also on the EU list, including from Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea.

Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speak to the media during a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, about the attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport last month with a drone loaded with explosives.(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)