Brumbies to face Rebels and Reds to host Waratahs in intriguing opening round to Super Rugby AU
The idea of the Sunwolves filling out Super Rugby AU lives on - for the time being - but in their expected absence, a draft draw for the opening round has been released. And it certainly throws up some intriguing scenarios.
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Barring a late reprieve for the Japanese Sunwolves, the Brumbies will be at home in Canberra to the Melbourne Rebels, and Queensland will host the Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium in the opening round of the Super Rugby AU competition on July 3-4.
There is still hope, though it is fading fast, that the Sunwolves will be allowed to compete in the otherwise all-Australian competition, but Rugby Australia has decided it can sit on the details of the series no longer and has released a draft draw to the five confirmed starters — the four Super Rugby franchises plus the Western Force.
All teams will start from zero points in the rebooted competition, but the Brumbies look to have been rewarded for their second place on the table and 23 points in the pre-COVID-19 series by being given a home match in Canberra first up against the Rebels, who were the second-placed Australian side.
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That match presumably will open the series, although it is impossible to be definitive given that the draft draw — a copy of which was leaked to News Corp Australia — lists only the matches for each weekend. But the honour could be given to traditional rivals Queensland and NSW.
There will be extra significance to the Canberra occasion with Rebels playmaker Matt Toomua set to make his 100th Super Rugby appearance on the night against a Brumbies side he once represented in 88 games.
Rugby Australia CEO Rob Clarke confirmed that even though these matches were not official Super Rugby fixtures, they should still count towards cap tallies and for marking milestones.
Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson said: “There were a lot of reasons why we felt they should be given that status, given the COVID pandemic is unprecedented. And we are playing in the only competition that we can against a side we would normally meet in Super Rugby.”
The Western Force, who were confirmed as a starter only on Wednesday, will have the bye in the opening round but will play their opening match in Sydney, against the Waratahs, the last side they met — and beat — in Super Rugby before they were culled in 2017. The match will take place less than a week short of the third anniversary of that famous 40-11 victory.
According to the draft draw, the Force will play their first home match in Perth on July 24-25, though presumably that is conditional on the Western Australia government having lifted border restrictions by that stage.
The Super Rugby AU competition is still conditional on Fox Sports making a suitable offer for the RA package this year, including no fewer than four Bledisloe Cup Tests against the All Blacks.
Meanwhile, Rugby Australia is yet to guarantee player contracts beyond this season, despite requests for assurances from player agents.
Interim RA chief executive Rob Clarke said he hoped to provide more “clarity” as soon as possible for players and their agents.
“It’s not surprising we haven’t been able to give absolute clarity until we secure a broadcast partner for the future, those two things are linked,” Clarke said.
“I am keeping (RUPA chief executive) Justin Harrison across all those discussions and where we sit. I can reassure the players I believe there will be a bright future for them. I’d like to reassure to them there will be every effort made to clarify the position as soon possible.”
News Corp Australia has learnt several player agents have contacted RA staff asking for guarantees for their players’ contracts beyond this year, with many locked into long-term deals. There has yet to be a formal answer from the governing body.