The Wallabies will be allowed to train in full after just six days of quarantine, as the NZ Government desperately tries to rescue the Bledisloe Cup series.
Newshub has revealed that Rugby Australia has made a formal request to New Zealand Rugby to snatch the two proposed tests scheduled for New Zealand next month, due to strict COVID-19 quarantine restrictions on this side of the Tasman.
But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed to The AM Show that she made a late-night phone call to Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in a bid to keep those games in New Zealand.
"There was already an agreement in place," she says. "I just wanted to make sure that Scott was aware of some of the discussions that were going on, just to make sure everyone followed through on the agreement that was made.
"Our quarantine arrangements are really good and flexible, so there's no reason the Australians can't fulfill their end of the bargain.
"We have arrangements for Bledisloe Cup matches and if everyone plays ball, they will go ahead. Scott Morrison and I are not the ones making the decisions, but we do have interest in it."
Ardern has offered to ease restrictions, so the Wallabies can start training as a unit after just six days in isolation.
On Friday, SANZAAR awarded the Rugby Championship to Australia, citing far less restrictive isolation measures that would be placed on New Zealand, Argentina, Australia and South Africa.
But Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the risk that Australian players and staff would pose is far lower, thus the rules can be more flexible.
"We provided advice on the Rugby Championship, which included teams coming from South Africa and Argentina, where we know some of the Argentinian players recently tested positive," Bloomfield has told The AM Show.
"There's a higher risk when you've got those teams coming, but with the Australian team, we know there's a much lower risk.
"Mark Robinson from NZ Rugby contacted me yesterday to ask for further advice, particularly around the option of having a larger training group for that second week.
"We gave some advice back that we felt, on balance, the risk - with additional testing in the first week - could be reduced that would allow a larger training group in the second week.
"I'm hopeful that advice will help him in his conversations with his Australian counterparts."
Bloomfield hopes the easing in restrictions provides an enviroment Rugby Australia is willing to accept.
"Basically they're asking if the whole team could train in the second week or after the sixth day, and our advice is yes.
"If there is any residual risk - if a player becomes positive - it effectively takes the whole team out, but they were arguing, even if it takes 15 men out and that's our whole forward pack, we're in the same position.
"I'm hopeful that with that extra week of being able to train as a whole team, that will help swing things."
On Sunday new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie made it clear that such a situation would be "unacceptable" for his team, and that playing the full series in Australia was the more fair solution.
"NZ Rugby's got an expectation that we jump on a plane the day after the Super Rugby final, have two weeks in quarantine, where we can't prepare as a team, and then play a test seven days later," Rennie said.
"Under those quarantine arrangements, I can assure we won't be playing a test in New Zealand that weekend.
"If New Zealand came here, both sides going into a bubble for two weeks with unrestricted training, the preparation is identical."
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was still confident that the respective unions will come to an agreement and NZ will retain their hosting rights.
"I do think we'll find a solution that works for both sides," Ardern said.
"It'll be up to the rugby unions to determine on what day they're held."
