Super Rugby Trans-Tasman draw finalised

April 23, 2021
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Ultimate Rugby

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Rugby Australia (RA) have confirmed the final schedule for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman with additional home matches for the Blues, Hurricanes and Highlanders and trips to Wollongong and Townsville respectively for the Crusaders and Chiefs.

The matches announced today are for Round 3 of the Sky Super Rugby Trans-Tasman tournament which will kick off on Friday, 14 May, and replace the proposed ‘Super Round’ which would have seen a full round of matches played at a single venue.

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Round 3 of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman will have a strong regional flavour when it kicks-off at McLean Park in Napier with the Hurricanes hosting the Western Force at 7.05pm on Friday, 28 May.

A blockbuster Saturday will see the Crusaders head to WIN Stadium in Wollongong to play the NSW Waratahs at 5.05pm, the Blues host the Brumbies at Eden Park in Auckland at 7.15pm, then the Chiefs play the Queensland Reds in the inaugural Super Rugby match at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville at 9.45pm.

The Highlanders and Melbourne Rebels will round out Round 3 with a family friendly 2.35pm Sunday afternoon kick off on 30 May at a venue still to be finalised within the Highlanders region.

The remainder of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman schedule remains unchanged from that announced last December.

All 25 regular season matches will be live and exclusive on Sky as well as the final between the two top-placed teams on the combined competition ladder, which is scheduled for Saturday, 19 June.

NZR General Manager Professional Rugby & High-Performance Chris Lendrum said:

“We are grateful to be in a position to lock in the final matches for Sky Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and with the travel bubble open we’re all looking forward to welcoming our Australian counterparts to New Zealand next month.

“It’s disappointing we were unable to get the ‘Super Round’ off the ground in 2021, but I’m sure it’s a concept we will re-visit in the future.

“Fans and players are understandably focused on the exciting final rounds of Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU, but I’m sure when the dust settles there will be an air of anticipation as to how the respective teams measure up against their trans-Tasman rivals.”