State of Origin is set to officially leave Australia for the first time, with a 2027 game to be played in New Zealand.

In a move that has been speculated for some time, it's understood Game 2 of the 2027 series between the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons will head to Auckland.

An in principle agreement was believed to have been signed between the Australian Rugby League Commission and New Zealand government prior to Christmas, and has now been formally signed off per News Corp.

It's believed that the agreement is worth around $5 million.

The move will see Origin leave Australia for the first time since an exhibition match was played in the United States of America in the 1980s, however, it's not rare for Origin to be played at neutral venues.

In recent years, one match of the series has been played in another Australian city, with Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne all hosting matches on a regular basis.

The game in New Zealand took extra steps, with a new kick-off time having to be agreed to by New Zealand and the NRL's broadcasters.

While Origin generally kicks off after 8pm, New Zealand being two hours ahead of Australia means a compromise had to be reached, and it's understood Game 2 of the 2027 series will commence at 9:30pm local time, and the earlier time of 7:30pm in Australia.

The game is set to be held at Eden Park, which holds a capacity of 50,000.

While not formally announced by the NRL, the move will be the latest in a string of outreach for the game, with a PNG-based team to be launched in 2028, a World Cup to be held down under this year, and talk the Perth Bears will take a home game to Singapore in their first year, while the NRL continues with the Las Vegas experiment for a third year in 2026.