Rugby Championship 2020: Fixtures revealed for tournament hosted in Australia

New Zealand Rugby disappointed with schedule because it will force All Blacks to spend Christmas Day in quarantine

Image: The Springboks won last year's Rugby Championship

The four-nation Rugby Championship will be played as six double-header matches in Australia over a six-week period starting in Brisbane on November 7.

Sanzaar, the governing body for the tournament which includes Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, said the non-Australian teams would be required to observe all health regulations around their squads as imposed by the New South Wales and Queensland governments. All sides will operate within a bio-secure bubble during the tournament.

Australia won hosting rights for the Rugby Championship over New Zealand due to more relaxed quarantine conditions.

The reduction of COVID-19 restrictions in New South Wales means stadiums can operate at 50 per cent capacity which will allow for potentially 40,000 spectators at Olympic stadium, where the tournament ends on December 12.

Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium has also been permitted to fill to half capacity, meaning 25,000 fans could attend.

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Image: Australia will host the six-week tournament in November and December

The final match doubles as the fourth Bledisloe Cup Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks, with the trans-Tasman rivals playing two in New Zealand next month before the Rugby Championship begins.

The Rugby Championship will be the Springboks' first Tests since winning the World Cup in Japan last year.

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Sanzaar chief executive Andy Marinos said it had taken a lot of planning to get the tournament locked in after its COVID-19-forced postponement.

"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," Marinos said.

Rugby Championship schedule (times to be determined):

November 7: Brisbane: Argentina vs South Africa, Australia vs New Zealand
November 14: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney: New Zealand vs Argentina, South Africa vs Australia
November 21: ANZ Stadium, Sydney: New Zealand vs South Africa, Australia vs Argentina
November 28: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle: Argentina vs Australia, South Africa vs New Zealand
December 5: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney: Argentina vs New Zealand, Australia vs South Africa
December 12: ANZ Stadium, Sydney: South Africa vs Argentina, Australia vs New Zealand

New Zealand disappointed with schedule

New Zealand Rugby said it was disappointed with Thursday's schedule announcement because it will force the All Blacks to spend Christmas Day in quarantine.

Image: New Zealand came third in last year's Rugby Championship

The All Blacks will play the Wallabies in the final match of the tournament in Sydney on December 12, meaning the New Zealand players - many of whom have young children - will not have completed their 14-days of mandatory isolation until after Christmas. The New Zealand government could grant exemptions for some players to leave quarantine earlier but that is unlikely.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said in a statement on Thursday he is disappointed organisers Sanzaar have not been more sensitive to the quarantine regulations that will apply to the All Blacks when they return home.

"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.

"We understand the commercial considerations in the scheduling. However, the well-being 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."

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