Australia’s Queensland state will host eight Rugby Championship tests in double-headers over four weekends from September in a revised schedule following new COVID-19 restrictions across the country and in New Zealand.
Organisers had considered moving games to South Africa or the UK amid lockdowns and tightening travel curbs in Australia and New Zealand.
But after securing approvals from Queensland officials, the partner rugby unions in governing body SANZAAR agreed unanimously to play in the largely coronavirus-free state, Rugby Australia (RA) boss Andy Marinos told reporters on Tuesday.
“Everyone is on the same page, thankfully, and aligned to making sure this Rugby Championship is a success,” Marinos said in a video call.
The agreement comes after friction between Australia and New Zealand in recent days following New Zealand Rugby’s decision to pull out of the Aug. 28 test against Australia in Perth over concerns about the schedule.
RA hopes the Perth match will go ahead on the following weekend but is waiting for approvals from authorities in Western Australia, which has effectively shut its border to arrivals from New Zealand.
“I’m hopeful we can get confirmation in the next 24-48 hours,” Marinos said.
The Gold Coast will host the third round of the Rugby Championship on Sept. 12 and the sixth and final round on Oct. 2.
Brisbane stages round four at Lang Park on Sept. 18 with Townsville holding round five on Sept. 25.
The All Blacks play Argentina, with Australia facing South Africa in the first double-header on the Gold Coast.
The teams will undertake a two-week quarantine at a resort in southeast Queensland before playing under strict biosecurity protocols. South Africa and Argentina are due to arrive in Queensland and start quarantine on Friday.
Organisers have had to revise the schedule several times due to the shifting COVID landscape, and the latest changes mean increased costs and a revenue hit.
“There’s without a doubt an impact because we’ve lost a huge opportunity in terms of the budgets and the P and L’s (profit and loss) presented for some of the games that would have taken place in New Zealand,” Marinos said.
“Our costs have increased as we have expected with the quarantine and the additional requirements around that.”
South Africa lead the Rugby Championship table after winning back-to-back home matches against Argentina.
New Zealand thrashed Australia 57-22 at Eden Park in the first round.
Rugby Championship schedule:
Round Two Aug. 21
South Africa 29 vs. Argentina 10 – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Date TBC: Australia vs. New Zealand – Perth
Round Three, Sept 12 – Gold Coast
New Zealand vs. Argentina; South Africa vs. Australia
Round Four, Sept. 18 – Brisbane
Argentina vs. New Zealand; Australia vs. South Africa
Round Five, Sept. 25 – Townsville
Australia vs. Argentina; New Zealand vs. South Africa – Townsville
Round Six, Oct. 2 – Gold Coast
Argentina vs. Australia; South Africa vs. New Zealand.