shortened Rugby Championship tournament which will start in Christchurch with a match between the All Blacks and Argentina.
The condensed three-round championship sees teams face each other once, with a champion to be crowned on August 8, before a stand-alone round serves as final preparation for September’s much-anticipated Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand are the current champions and they kick off the tournament on Friday evening and a day later on Saturday the Wallabies and Springboks meet in Brisbane.
The full draw, including venues and kick-off times is now available with the exception of the Argentina v South Africa clash on 15 August which will take place in Buenos Aires at a stadium to be confirmed by Union Argentina de Rugby in the coming weeks.
The first match – a Friday night battle between New Zealand and Argentina – will serve as AMI Stadium’s debut match in The Rugby Championship, although the temporary Addington, Christchurch venue has previously hosted the All Blacks on two prior occasions (a 22-19 victory over Ireland in 2012 and a 30-0 whitewash of France in 2013).
Brisbane meanwhile has proven a happy hunting ground for Australia with the Wallabies beating the Springboks on seven of eight occasions at Suncorp Stadium with their only blemish being a 38-12 defeat to the South Africans in September 2013.
The Rugby Championship commences a fortnight after the Super Rugby Final on 4 July with the last round of matches concluding on 15 August, giving teams just over a month before launching their Rugby World Cup campaigns.
Round One.
Match No.1:New Zealand v Argentina
Date : July 17
Venue : Christchurch
Kick Off – : local19:35/ GMT 7:35/ NZ 19:35/ Aus 17:35/ SA 9:35/ Arg 4:35
Match No.2:Australia v South Africa
Date : July 18
Venue : Brisbane
Kick Off : local 20:05 /GMT 10:05/ NZ 22:05/ Aus 20:05/ SA 12:05 /Arg 7:05
Round Two
Match No.3:South Africa v New Zealand
Date : Johannesburg
Venue : July 25
Kick Off : Local 17:05 GMT/ 15:05NZ / Sun 26 Jul 3:05 / Sun 26 Jul 1:05/ 17:05 / Arg 12:05
Match No.4:Argentina v Australia
Date : July 25
Venue : Mendoza
Kick Off : Local 19:40 GMT 22:40/ NZ Sun 26 Jul 10:40/ Aus Sun 26 Jul 8:40 /SA Sun 26 Jul 00:40/ Arg Sat 25 Jul 19:40
Round Three
Match No.5:Australia v New Zealand
Date : August 8
Venue : Sydney
Kick Off : Local 20:05/ GMT 10:05/ NZ Sat 8 Aug 22:05 / Aus Sat 8 Aug 20:05/ SA Sat 8 Aug 12:05/ Arg Sat 8 Aug 7:05
Match No.6:South Africa v Argentina
Date : August 8
Venue : Durban
Kick Off : Local 17:05/GMT 15:05/ NZ Sun 9 Aug 3:05/ Aus Sun 9 Aug 1:05/ SA Sat 8 Aug 17:05/ Arg Sat 8 Aug 12:05
Non-Championship Round (not for points)
Match :New Zealand v Australia
Date : August 15
Venue : Auckland
Kick Off : Local 19:35/ GMT 7:35/ NZ Sat 15 Aug 19:35/ Aus Sat 15 Aug 17:35/ SA Sat 15 Aug 9:35 / Arg Sat 15 Aug 4:35
Match :Argentina v South Africa
Date : August 15
Venue : Buenos Aires
Kick Off : TBA
