SANZAAR unveil revised Rugby Championship schedule

SANZAAR has announced the revised schedule for the upcoming Rugby Championship competition following the New Zealand government's decision to impose trans-Tasman travel ban due to Covid surge in Australia.

The new schedule will see Australia and New Zealand kick-starting their Bledisloe Cup contest at Eden Park in Auckland on 7th August and the two teams will face each other again on the same venue on 14th August which will also be their opening fixture in the Rugby Championship.

Both Australia and New Zealand will be heading to Perth for the reverse fixture in the Rugby Championship and the final game of the Bledisloe Cup on 28th August.

There will be no change in the opening two games of Argentina and South Africa with Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth hosting the games on 14th and 21st August.

Due to the restrictions in place, New Zealand's games against Argentina will be shifted to Australia with SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris revealing that they will monitor the situation in both Australia and New Zealand for any further changes in the schedule.

"Once again the pandemic threw us a challenge in terms of our match schedule but we are delighted that a solution has been found for the two Australia versus New Zealand matches despite the restrictions on travel between the two countries," he told in a statement released by SANZAAR.

"The All Blacks and Wallabies will play back-to-back weekends in Auckland with the second match on Saturday 14 August being the opening round of The Rugby Championship.

"New Zealand will now travel to Australia for the return match in Perth on Saturday 28 August. We realise this is a week later than originally scheduled for Perth rugby fans with tickets but the pandemic and changing government health and travel regulations now in place have made our task difficult.

"SANZAAR also understands the disappointment for Wellington rugby fans who will now miss out on New Zealand versus Australia and New Zealand versus Argentina matches due to the rescheduling."

Rugby Championship 2021 Schedule:

Saturday 14 August
South Africa v Argentina: Venue: Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth
All Blacks v Australia: Venue: Eden Park, Auckland

Saturday 21 August
Argentina v South Africa: Venue: Nelson Mandela Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Saturday 28 August
Australia v All Blacks: Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth

TBC: New Zealand v Argentina [to be played in Australia]
**South Africa v Australia [scheduled 12 Sept, SCG, Sydney]
**Australia v South Africa [scheduled 18 Sept, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane]
TBC: Argentina v New Zealand [to be played in Australia]
**New Zealand v South Africa [scheduled 25 Sept, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin]
**Australia v Argentina [scheduled 25 Sept, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle]
**South Africa v New Zealand [scheduled 2 October, Eden Park, Auckland]
**Argentina v Australia [scheduled 2 October, GIO Stadium, Canberra]

** schedule subject to change due to government/health authority pandemic regulations; TBC - to be confirmed