In a major shift to the competition, the remainder of this year’s Rugby Championship will take place in Queensland, it was announced by SANZAAR on Tuesday.

The change to the location of fixtures is in response to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent tightening of regulations placed on travel and quarantine by various state and national governments in Australia and New Zealand.

SANZAAR’s solution is for the remaining eight games to be staged in Queensland following an agreement of suitable travel, accommodation and quarantine arrangements as regulated by the Queensland state government.

Wallabies v All Blacks to be played in Perth

The outstanding second-round fixture between Australia and New Zealand, which was originally scheduled to take place in Perth on Saturday, August 28 will be played in the city at Optus Stadium with confirmation of the match date to be announced in the next few days.

Unfortunately, this means there will be no games played in New South Wales (Sydney and Newcastle), Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) or New Zealand (Auckland and Dunedin) as previously scheduled.

“We thought last year was tough when we had to implement a Tri-nations tournament in Australia with South Africa absent due to the pandemic, but the current disruption caused by the ‘delta variant’ of COVID-19 has seen government authorities tighten up border bio-security measures substantially,” said SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris.

“This is totally understandable but after exploring several options, including moving the tournament to South Africa and even Europe, we now look forward with excitement to the remainder of The Rugby Championship in Queensland. Indeed, I am delighted on behalf of the SANZAAR stakeholders that we can now complete this world-class rugby tournament.”

He added: “We are very excited about this unique format and rugby experience as we look to deliver a month of “Double Headers” with the world’s best players in Queensland, something never done in international rugby before.

“On behalf of SANZAAR and the national unions, I would like to sincerely thank the Queensland Government for working with us and providing a travel, accommodation, training and playing environment that will allow us to safely complete the tournament. SANZAAR and the National Unions will now work closely with the states’ health authorities to ensure all bio-security measures are adhered to.

“I personally want to thank Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young, as well as John Lee of the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport, and their respective departments for their tireless efforts in supporting this tournament.

“SANZAAR would also like to recognise the tournaments’ various commercial partners, our television broadcast rights holders and the fans for their patience and for their flexibility and understanding in this difficult time.”