Rugby Australia is facing a backlash from across the Tasman, after announcing the draw for the upcoming Rugby Championship, which will take place in a six-week period in November and December.
RA, in association with SANZAAR, this morning revealed the fixtures for the tournament, which features Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.
Brisbane, Sydney and Newcastle will host matches, with the final round of matches set down for December 12 at ANZ Stadium.
But unless the New Zealand government grants an exemption for the All Blacks, players and staff won't complete their quarantine until December 27, meaning they'd spend Christmas Day locked in a hotel.
The announcement has left NZ Rugby boss Mark Robinson furious.
"We were working on the understanding and all our planning and scheduling was on the basis that the All Blacks last match would be on December 5 to give our players and management time to get home, undertake the 14 days' quarantine back in New Zealand, and then be with their families for Christmas, as will be the case for the other three teams in the tournament," Robinson said in a statement.
"We understand the commercial considerations in the scheduling. However, the wellbeing of our people is an incredibly important factor in this also.
"We are committed to playing in the Rugby Championship and we know the scheduling of matches has been a complex and dynamic issue to work through, especially with quarantine protocols, but we haven't agreed to this schedule and are disappointed at the announcement.
"We will now work through the issues with Rugby Australia and SANZAAR and believe that there are other solutions within the Rugby Championship window."
If the issues can't be resolved, leading All Blacks players would be likely to skip the tournament.
However, a precedent may have already been set that will allow the All Blacks' players to spend Christmas Day with their families, with the Wallabies required to isolate for just three days in New Zealand prior to the first Bledisloe Cup match on October 11.
The furore from New Zealand has taken the gloss off SANZAAR's announcement, which will see each round played as a double header, beginning at Suncorp Stadium on November 7.
The two Bledisloe Cup matches are scheduled for November 7 and December 12.
"It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this point, but we are delighted that we can now confirm the match dates and venues," said SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos.
"The Rugby Championship is one of the game's show piece events and includes some of the best rugby talent in the world.
"While the rescheduling and reconfiguration of the Super Rugby season has not been ideal all the member unions have been committed in getting rugby back on the field and the culmination of this will be the TRC in Australia."
It's been a turbulent week for Rugby Australia, which yesterday lost its major sponsor of 30 years, with Qantas pulling the pin due to the economic hit the company has taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rugby Championship 2020 fixtures
Round One - Saturday 7 November 2020
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Argentina v South Africa
Australia v New Zealand
Round Two - Saturday 14 November
Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v Argentina
South Africa v Australia
Round Three - Saturday 21 November
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v South Africa
Australia v Argentina
Round Four – Saturday 28 November
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Argentina v Australia
South Africa v New Zealand
Round Five – Saturday 5 December
Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
Argentina v New Zealand
Australia v South Africa
Round Six – Saturday 12 December
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
South Africa v Argentina
Australia v New Zealand
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/rugby/the-rugby-championship-2020-draw-fixtures-announced-kick-off-bledisloe-cup/439f82be-e89a-4051-bb67-5c19baa9aede
0 Comments