New Zealand are crying foul over the Rugby Championship schedule, saying they didn’t agree to a change in dates which could mean the All Blacks players spend Christmas in quarantine.
New Zealand Rugby released a statement on Thursday following the draw announcement saying the schedule had changed from the original plan, which had the last match set down for December 5 rather than December 12.
The Wallabies and All Blacks will play the final match of the six-week tournament at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
Under NZ government guidelines the players must hotel quarantine for two weeks when they arrive home, meaning they now won’t be out in time for Christmas with their families.
“We were working on the understanding and all our planning and scheduling was on the basis that the All Blacks last match would be on December 5,” NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said in a statement.
“(This would) give our players and management time to get home, undertake the 14 days’ quarantine back in New Zealand, and then 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.
“We haven’t agreed to this schedule and are disappointed at the announcement.”
Robinson said they were still committed to playing in the Rugby Championship and planned to work with Rugby Australia and SANZAAR to find a solution.
The schedule sees Bledisloe Cup Tests bookend the four-nation 2020 Rugby Championship, which kicks off in Brisbane on November 7.
The tournament, also involving world champions South Africa and Argentina, will be be played as six double-header fixtures.
The December 12 match doubles as the fourth Bledisloe Cup Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks, with the trans-Tasman rivals playing two in New Zealand next month before the Rugby Championship gets underway.
Australia won hosting rights for the Rugby Championship over New Zealand due to more relaxed quarantine conditions, with all but the opening Brisbane round to be played in NSW.
The softening of COVID-19 guidelines will allow for potentially 40,000 spectators at ANZ Stadium and 25,000 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
ANZ Stadium and Bankwest Stadium will each host two rounds while one will be played at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday November 28, with the Wallabies against Argentina and South Africa taking on New Zealand.
The Rugby Championship will be the Springboks’ first Tests since winning the World Cup in Japan last year.
Inbound teams will be required to observe all health regulations around their squads as imposed by the NSW and Queensland governments while all sides will operate within a “bubble” during the tournament.
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE FOR 2020 (TIMES TBA)
Round one: Saturday 7 November 2020, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Argentina v South Africa, Australia v New Zealand
Round Two: Saturday 14 November, Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v Argentina, South Africa v Australia
Round three: Saturday 21 November, ANZ Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v South Africa, Australia v Argentina
Round four: Saturday 28 November, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Argentina v Australia, South Africa v New Zealand
Round five: Saturday 5 December, Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
Argentina v New Zealand, Australia v South Africa
Round six: Saturday 12 December, ANZ Stadium, Sydney
South Africa v Argentina, Australia v New Zealand
