When are the Wallabies playing: Rugby Championship dates confirmed

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Bledisloe Cup

The Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship schedule had been thrown into turmoil after the New Zealand government's decision to pause the trans-Tasman travel bubble for eight weeks. 

The Wallabies are travelling to Auckland later this week in order to beat the travel bubble closure and avoid a mandatory two-week quarantine period. 

At this stage, all we know for sure is that the first Test of the Bledisloe Cup series will be played on Saturday, August 7 at Eden Park. 

After that, everything remains 'TBC'. 

The original Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship schedule had the All Blacks and Wallabies playing a second Test in Perth two weeks later on August 21, before a third encounter in Wellington the following week on August 28.

With the New Zealand government's travel bubble pause, both teams would be forced to quarantine for two weeks before the third Test in Wellington. 

It now looks likely that the first two Tests will be played in New Zealand over consecutive weekends before the All Blacks and Wallabies both relocate to Australia. 

The venue for the second Test is yet to be confirmed. New Zealand Rugby had initially planned on bringing the August 28 Test in Wellington forward two weeks to the 14th, but the city's Sky Stadium is hosting a popular annual beer festival the same day. 

"I don't think contract law allows us to bump Beervana," NZR boss Chris Lendrum said on Monday.

Lendrum said he would consider moving the fixture to a Sunday or a midweek timeslot, otherwise the match could be relocated. 

NZR is still committed to playing Australia in Perth, but that sellout fixture may have to be moved to a different day as well depending on other matches in the schedule. 

It's understood that New Zealand Rugby is also planning on moving its scheduled home fixtures against Agrentina and South Africa - initially slated to be held in September - to Australia instead. 

Both the Springboks and the Pumas have committed to undergoing their mandatory two-week quarantine periods in New South Wales and logistically won't be able to do another period of quarantine in New Zealand.

The Wallabies are scheduled to play South Africa and Argentina twice each over four consecutive weekends in September and early October. 

The status of the opening match against the Springboks at the SCG on Sunday, September 12 remains unclear with Sydney COVID-19 lockdown still in ongoing. 

Australia is down to play the return match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane a week later, before two matches against Argentina in Newcastle and Canberra. 

Updates on all of those matches will be provided over the coming weeks. 

WHEN ARE THE WALLABIES PLAYING THE ALL BLACKS 

At this point in time, all we know for sure is that the first Bledisloe Cup match will be played at Eden Park on Saturday, August 7.

Australia is scheduled to play New Zealand another two times over the next three weeks, but the status of those games remains unclear. 

Rugby Championship Draw and Schedule - Wallabies 

Note - this is the original draw released earlier this year. Most of these games will need to be rescheduled and/or relocated.

Wallabies v New Zealand, Saturday 21 August at Optus Stadium, Perth at 6.00pm AWST*
New Zealand v Wallabies, Saturday 28 August at Sky Stadium, Wellington at 5.05pm AEST*
South Africa v Wallabies, Sunday 12 September at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney at 3.00pm AEST
Wallabies v South Africa, Saturday 18 September at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 3.00pm AEST
Wallabies v Argentina, Saturday 25 September at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle at 7.45pm AEST
Argentina v Wallabies, Saturday 2 October at GIO Stadium in Canberra at 8pm AEST 

HOW TO WATCH THE WALLABIES 

Every Wallabies Test will be ad-free, live and on demand with extended coverage on Stan Sport and live, free-to-air on the Nine Network.

 

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