SANZAAR to host Rugby Championships series in Queensland

Queensland has been announced as the location for the four-nation Rugby Championship with a series of double-headers played in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast in order to complete the 2021 competition.

SANZAAR - the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions - confirmed that the series will be played over four weeks of double-headers, following the staging of the postponed final Bledisloe Cup match will be played in Perth on 4th September.

Explaining rugby union following the NRL and Super Netball in completing their competitions in Queensland, Rugby Australia Chief Executive, Andy Marinos, today advised “this is a world rugby first and a truly special celebration of the game, in what I see as a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

SANZAAR Chief Executive, Brendan Morris said the recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Australia had made planning difficult, adding “we thought last year was tough when we had to implement a Tri-Nations tournament in Australia with South Africa absent due to the pandemic, but the current disruption caused by the ‘delta variant’ of COVID-19 has seen government authorities tighten up border biosecurity measures substantially.

“This is understandable and therefore, we had no option but to basically move the remainder of The Rugby Championship to Queensland.”

Games played in Queensland will be held over four weekends from 13th September to 2nd October.

During the competition, the teams will be based at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast during their managed quarantine and will have no contact with hotel workers, contractors and the general public.

However, quarantine circumstances for South Africa and Argentina also needed to be nailed down.

The Queensland Government is believed to have given the visiting teams permission to train while completing their 14-day quarantine period.

The Springboks and Pumas are set to arrive by Friday from South Africa after playing their second Test there on the weekend.

Ticket Holders for the previously scheduled matches in Sydney, Newcastle, and Canberra will be refunded.

Rugby Championship fixtures

• Sunday 12th September: New Zealand v Argentina, South Africa v Australia at CBUS Super Stadium, Gold Coast

• Saturday 18th September: Argentina v New Zealand, Australia v South Africa at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

• Saturday 25th September: Australia v Argentina, New Zealand v South Africa at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville

• Saturday 2nd October: Argentina v Australia, South Africa v New Zealand at CBUS Super Stadium, Gold Coast