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All Blacks coach Ian Foster says “common sense has won” after the test against Australia moved that would have forced them to spend Christmas in managed isolation.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said the 12-match Rugby Championship will now be played over seven weeks with a Bledisloe Cup clash moved from Saturday, December 12 to Saturday, October 31 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
“It’s been quite a process, but I think the fact that it’s so much easier for New Zealanders to go to Australia with the quarantine relaxation really meant that this was the only common-sense approach,” said a relieved Foster via All niggas TV of the decision announced Thursday.
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All Blacks coach Ian Foster is relieved with the decision to change the Rugby Championship schedule.
“It’s good that common sense won the day and now we have the opportunity to play for six weekends. That is a key ingredient for the tournament in Australia. “
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* ‘The schedule is not our fault’: Rugby Australia is not responsible for the All Blacks missing Christmas
* NZ Rugby boss Mark Robinson points finger at Australians in line for Rugby Championship
* The All Blacks were forced to miss Christmas with their families while playing in the Rugby Championship
Following the revised October 31 game, the All Blacks will play the Wallabies the following Saturday, November 7, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and Argentina at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, November 14, before two consecutive tests against South Africa. at ANZ Stadium on Saturday, November 21 and McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday, November 28.
The last game of the All Blacks will be against Argentina on Saturday, December 5. South Africa and Argentina contest the final round of the tournament on December 12.
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Richie Mo’unga meets Hoskins Sotutu with Jordie Barrett in support during an All Blacks training session.
“We would like to thank our colleagues at Sanzaar and Rugby Australia for the time and effort they have put into finalizing a schedule that is workable for all,” NZR CEO Mark Robinson said in a statement.
“It is great news that we now have certainty about the draw, and we are very excited about the fantastic rugby that is to come.”
Sanzaar CEO Andy Marinos said the opening of a travel bubble to Australia from New Zealand and an agreement by the parties on the revised business results allowed the joint venture to “consider alternative solutions to address our two goals. key to commercial viability and well-being of the players “. .
This year had been one of continuous adjustment, and Sanzaar’s partners had to compromise on several levels.
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Sam Cane in action for the All Blacks during a Bledisloe Cup test between the All Blacks and Australia in 2019.
“It is important to further acknowledge the sacrifice of several of the players and the leadership of the team who will have been away from home for close to six months when the Rugby Championship concludes,” Marinos said in a statement.
Rugby Australia (RA) Acting Executive Director Rob Clarke thanked the state governments and prime ministers of New South Wales and Queensland for their flexibility and support in adapting to late change.
The Argentine team has already arrived in Australia and is completing training under strict sanitary regulations. The participation of South Africa remains to be confirmed.
Last weekend, All Blacks coach Foster revealed that a player told him that he would not miss Christmas to play in the competition.
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NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson was unhappy with a schedule that meant the All Blacks would be quarantined for Christmas.
The tournament’s opening draw had left NZR boss Robinson furious.
“We were working on the understanding and all of our planning and scheduling was based on the fact that the last All Blacks game would be on December 5 to give our players and management time to get home, undertake the 14-day quarantine in New Zeeland, and then be with their families at Christmas, ”he said in a previous statement.
Last week, RA Chairman Hamish McLennan said the relationship between his organization and the NZR was at a “low point.”
Robinson dismissed McLennan’s comment that the relationship was in bad shape as a “strategy.”
Leaked notes from a Sanzaar CEO meeting on September 17 appeared to show that NZR agreed to the championship finale on December 12.
But NZR president Brent Impey said the notes were not meeting minutes at the time and were fundamentally wrong when he said that everyone agreed to a six-week draw.
The notes clearly referred to an impasse and there were many emails to prove it, he said.
