SANZAAR has confirmed the schedule for the Rugby Championship with the tournament set to be played in Queensland.
The matches will be played as double-headers across four straight weekends across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville.
This comes as Rugby Australia confirms the third Bledisloe Test will be played in Perth, set to be played Sunday September 5 at 4pm (AEST)
Following this, the Wallabies will face South Africa on Sunday September 12 at Cbus Super Stadium, with the All Blacks taking on Argentina.
The sides will then head to Suncorp on September 18, before the action heads to Townsville a week later as Australia faces Argentina.
This will double as the centurion match between the All Blacks and Springboks, with the series set to end on October 2 on the Gold Coast.
Ticketholders for the previously scheduled matches in Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra will be refunded.
“This is a world Rugby first and a truly special celebration of the game, in what I see as a once-in-a-lifetime event. We can't thank Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk enough, as well as Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young and John Lee of the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport and their respective departments for their support in making this tournament possible," RA CEO Andy Marinos said in a statement.
“What a fantastic tournament ahead for fans in Queensland. Four unmissable back-to-back double-headers featuring four of the very best Test nations in World Rugby – all in Queensland’s backyard.
“I also want to acknowledge our partners including Nine, Stan, Cadbury, eToro as well as Rugby Australia’s partners for their support, as we showcase the very best of Queensland and Australia to the rest of the world next month.
“I extend our gratitude to the New South Wales Government and the ACT Government for their understanding in rescheduling the fixtures set for Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra. We hope everyone stays safe and we look forward to bringing world-class Rugby to fans right across the country next year."
With speculation rift the games would be moved to Europe, Marinos told reporters the preference was always keeping the games within the region, putting the delay down to sorting out quarantine measures for South Africa and Argentina.
"When we looked at the construct of the Rugby Championship this year, it was always going to be held between Australia and New Zealand and when New Zealand's position changed because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Australia remained the preferred option," Marinos said.
"So I think everyone just believed that we needed to close that loop before we looked at anything else.
“We really had confirmation of the match schedule a couple of days ago, it was getting this managed isolation piece sorted literally minutes before our SANZAAR call last night we got the confirmation from the Premier’s office and the DG.
“It was very welcome news and well received by our SANZAAR partners. Getting the Queensland solution through was the preferred position of the SANZAAR CEO’s and it’s a delight to get it through.
“It’s a real good opportunity for Queensland and Rugby in Australia.”
Tickets will go on sale Wednesday September 1 at 3pm for the four double-headers across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Townsville via Ticketek and Ticketmaster.
Round One
Sat 14 August: New Zealand 57 def Australia 22 at Eden Park, Auckland
Sat 14 August: South Africa 32 def Argentina 12 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Round Two
Sat 21 August: Argentina 10 def by South Africa 29 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Sun 5 September: Australia v New Zealand - Optus Stadium, Perth
Round Three
Sun 12 September: New Zealand v Argentina at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Sun 12 September: South Africa v Australia at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Round Four Sat 18 September: Argentina v New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Sat 18 September: Australia v South Africa at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Round Five
Sat 25 September: Australia v Argentina at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Sat 25 September: New Zealand v South Africa at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Round Six
Sat 2 October: Argentina v Australia at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Sat 2 October: South Africa v New Zealand at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
