Sydney (AFP)
The match between Australia and New Zealand, scheduled for December 12 at the end of the Rugby Championship, has finally been brought forward to October 31, the opening of the Southern Hemisphere tournament bringing together South Africa, New Zealand , Australia and Argentina, according to the schedule formalized Thursday.
To reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading, this tournament, usually played in round-trip matches in the four countries, will take place only in Australia.
The All Blacks were finally satisfied: they refused to play on December 12, for fear that their players, in the event of quarantine in the event of a positive test for Covid-19 that day, could not. not to spend the Christmas holidays with the family.
Finally, the Sanzaar, the governing body of rugby in the southern hemisphere, decided to advance its match against Australia, initially scheduled for closing on December 12, and to schedule it for opening on October 31.
New Zealand rugby boss Mark Robinson gave a message to Sanzaar and Rugby Australia, which he "thanks for the time spent and the effort put in to finalize a schedule that satisfies everyone. ".
Rugby Championship schedule:
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10/31 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney: Australia - New Zealand
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07/11 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane: Argentina - South Africa, followed by Australia - New Zealand
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11/14 at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney: New Zealand - Argentina followed by South Africa - Australia
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21/11 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney: New Zealand - South Africa followed by Australia - Argentina
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28/11 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle: Argentina - Australia followed by South Africa - New Zealand
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05/12 at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney: Argentina - New Zealand followed by Australia - South Africa
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12/12 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle: South Africa - Argentina
© 2020 AFP