[ad_1]
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Richie Mo’unga meets Hoskins Sotutu with Jordie Barrett in support during an All Blacks training session.
The rugby test against Australia that would have forced the All Blacks to spend Christmas in managed isolation has been moved.
New Zealand Rugby said the 12-match tournament will now run over seven weeks with the Bledisloe Cup clash moved from Saturday, December 12 to Saturday, October 31 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
The All Blacks will play the Wallabies the following Saturday, November 7 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, and Argentina at Bankwest Stadium, Sydney on Saturday, November 14, before two consecutive tests against South Africa at ANZ Stadium on Saturday, November 21 . and McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle on Saturday, November 28.
Renee McKay / Getty Images
Sam Cane in action for the All Blacks during the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park in 2019.
The last All Blacks game in the Championship will be played against Argentina on Saturday, December 5.
READ MORE:
* ‘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
“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,” said NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson.
“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 that the opening of a travel bubble to Australia from New Zealand and an agreement by the parties on revised business results allowed the joint venture to “consider alternative solutions to address our two key objectives of commercial viability and well-being of the player. “
Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Mark Robinson, CEO of NZ Rugby
This year had been a year of continuous adjustment, with SANZAAR partners having to compromise on various levels.
“It is important to further recognize 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,” said Marinos.
Rugby Australia 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.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster had previously said that a player had told him that he would not miss Christmas to play for the All Blacks.
The tournament’s opening draw had left NZ Rugby’s 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 Rugby Australia President Hamish McLennan said the relationship between his organization and NZ Rugby 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.
