Tour schedule shake-up
THE Rugby Championship ditches the home and away format in favour of ‘mini tours’ for the next four tournaments.
The previous home and away structure had been in place since 2012 when Argentina joined Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to create the tournament.
Each team will still play six matches comprising three home matches and three away matches, and will play each team twice.
However, each team will host a two-match tour, will play an away two-match tour and a one-match home and away series against the third team.
This year the All Blacks will host Argentina for two consecutive matches, will play two consecutive matches in South Africa and will play Australia once at home and once away.
This format will see the two-match ‘mini tour’ home and away hosting rotate over a two-year period.
The All Blacks and Wallabies will always play a split home and away series, as will South Africa and Argentina.
The mini-tour concept is locked in until the end of 2025 which SANZAAR said would alleviate player welfare concerns and the amount of travel teams have to undertake.
A clash between the All Blacks and the world champion Springboks on 7 August in Nelspruit kicks off this year’s Championship. The two sides meet again on 14 August in Johannesburg.
At the same time, Argentina will host Australia in Mendoza and San Juan.
SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris stated: “The tournament has proved to be an important stepping stone to Rugby World Cup success for southern hemisphere teams but there is always room for improvement and innovation and the agreed move to a mini-tour concept by all stakeholders is an exciting one.”
“It reinstates the touring traditions of rugby which previously have been an integral part of our game and will prove popular we believe with players, fans and broadcasters alike,” Morris said.
“This year also sees the longawaited return of The Rugby Championship to all our participating territories as over the last few years we have had, for obvious reasons, pandemic restrictions placed on travel and player movements. This year we are fully operational in Australia, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand which is fantastic for the tournament.”