Rugby-New Zealand demands change to Rugby Championship schedule

New Zealand Rugby has demanded a change to the Rugby Championship schedule released on Thursday, complaining that the All Blacks will be forced to spend Christmas in quarantine when they arrive home. The All Blacks play their final match of the six-week tournament against Australia in Sydney on Dec. 12 and would need to isolate for two weeks on their return to New Zealand as part of COVID-19 protocols.

NZR Chief Executive Mark Robinson said the All Blacks had understood the last match would be on Dec. 5 to give players and management time to get home and "be with their families for Christmas, as will be the case for the other three teams in the tournament." "We understand the commercial considerations in the scheduling. However, the wellbeing of our people is an incredibly important factor in this also," he said in a statement.

The statement arrived only minutes after governing body SANZAAR, which is comprised of partner unions Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa, released the schedule early on Thursday. "We are committed to playing in the Rugby Championship and we know the scheduling of matches has been a complex and dynamic issue to work through, especially with quarantine protocols, but we haven't agreed to this schedule and are disappointed at the announcement," added Robinson.

"We will now work through the issues with Rugby Australia and SANZAAR and believe that there are other solutions within the Rugby Championship window." With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting international travel, Australia were awarded sole hosting rights by SANZAAR, a major disappointment for New Zealand, which was nominated as preferred host mid-year.

The four-nation Rugby Championship is scheduled to kick off with world champions South Africa playing Argentina in the first match of a double-header at Brisbane's Lang Park on Nov 7. Australia play New Zealand in the second at Lang Park, which also doubles as the third fixture of the Bledisloe Cup, the annual series played between the trans-Tasman nations.

Brisbane will host only the first of six rounds of double-headers, with most matches played in Sydney at Western Sydney Stadium and Stadium Australia. The fourth round will be played at Newcastle, with the Wallabies playing the Pumas before the Springboks clash with the All Blacks.

Fixtures: Round One - Saturday Nov 7, Lang Park, Brisbane

Argentina v South Africa Australia v New Zealand

Round Two - Saturday Nov 14, Western Sydney Stadium, Sydney New Zealand v Argentina

South Africa v Australia Round Three - Saturday Nov 21, Stadium Australia, Sydney

New Zealand v South Africa Australia v Argentina

Round Four – Saturday Nov 28, Newcastle International Sports Centre, Newcastle Argentina v Australia

South Africa v New Zealand Round Five – Saturday Dec 5, Western Sydney Stadium, Sydney

Argentina v New Zealand Australia v South Africa

Round Six – Saturday Dec 12, Stadium Australia, Sydney South Africa v Argentina

Australia v New Zealand