“The Rugby Championship” to replace Tri Nations

[travelling_gerry]

By ARU Media Unit

Australian Rugby Union today announced Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast as host cities for the Qantas Wallabies’ three home Tests when The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship is launched next year.

Argentina has been confirmed alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to play from 2012 in the exciting and ground-breaking home and away Championship to replace the former Tri Nations series.

The Qantas Wallabies will open The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship against Rugby World Cup semi-final opponents and eventual RWC winners the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, 18 August.

The showdown with two-time Rugby World Cup winners South Africa will be played in Perth on Saturday, 8 September, while Argentina will take on the Qantas Wallabies in a historic Test at Skilled Park, Gold Coast, on Saturday, 15 September.

Apart from being the first match in Australia for the Pumas as part of The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship, the Skilled Park fixture will also be the first Test the Wallabies have played on the Gold Coast.

ARU also confirmed today Brisbane will host the last of the three Bledisloe Cup Tests against arch-rival New Zealand in 2012.

The third blockbuster in the trans-Tasman series will be played after The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship, with Suncorp Stadium the venue for the clash on Saturday, 20 October.

The first two Tests of the Bledisloe Cup series – in Sydney on 18 August and Auckland on 25 August – will be incorporated into The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship.

“The Rugby Championship will be the best of the best and represents the latest stage in the evolution of the game in the southern hemisphere,” said Australian Rugby Union Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill AO.

“The All Blacks are the No.1 side in the world, the Qantas Wallabies are No.2, the Springboks are No.4 and Argentina is No.7.

“This will be an exciting, enthralling, intense Championship of home and away matches between four heavyweight nations.

“They will play six matches each, three at home and three away, and the status of this event will be fitting of the moniker ‘The Rugby Championship’.

“On top of the announcement last week of the Castrol Edge International against Scotland on 5 June, and the Castrol Edge Welsh Tour which includes three Tests the same month, confirmation of The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship adds further lustre to the 2012 program.

“It will be a magnificent season of international Rugby in Australia, with eight Tests domestically.

“We are also introducing two new Test venues in Ausgrid Stadium at Newcastle for the Scottish game and Skilled Park at the Gold Coast for the Argentina match.”

For the full 2012 Qantas Wallabies draw click here

http://www.rugby.com.au/wallabies/Ne...6/Default.aspx

[The InnFORCEr]

Bring on 2012

[Burgs]

Bokke will be a good match and is the obvious choice for drawing a crowd, but personally I would have prefered the inaugural Pumas Test.

[GIGS20]

Bokke will be a good match and is the obvious choice for drawing a crowd, but personally I would have prefered the inaugural Pumas Test.

Same same burgs

[beige]

They managed to say "Castrol Edge" 8 times in that article...

[mudskipper]

looks like Perth is stuck with the Boks matches... a change would be in the advantage of the Wallabies

[GIGS20]

I agree, make argentina cross like a bazillion timezones to play here. Make SA do the same to play in Sydney......try to schedule it so that it comes directly after a home game for them!

[sandgroperrugby]

Argentina will not be 7th in the world for very long. Once they start playing more test against top opposition they will climb quickly. More so because i really rate them to get better quickly and gain some consistency.

Excerpt from the IRB website

World Rankings Explanation
The IRB World Rankings are calculated using a 'Points Exchange' system, in which sides take points off each other based on the match result. Whatever one side gains, the other loses.

The exchanges are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, and the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage.

Points exchanges are doubled during the World Cup Finals to recognise the unique importance of this event, but all other full international matches are treated the same, to be as fair as possible to countries playing a different mix of friendly and competitive matches across the world.

[Tonkar]

Argentina will not be 7th in the world for very long. Once they start playing more test against top opposition they will climb quickly. More so because i really rate them to get better quickly and gain some consistency.

Excerpt from the IRB website

World Rankings Explanation
The IRB World Rankings are calculated using a 'Points Exchange' system, in which sides take points off each other based on the match result. Whatever one side gains, the other loses.

The exchanges are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, and the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage.

Points exchanges are doubled during the World Cup Finals to recognise the unique importance of this event, but all other full international matches are treated the same, to be as fair as possible to countries playing a different mix of friendly and competitive matches across the world.

It is amazing how this works as the Welsh Played 1 more game in the world cup and in the Finals than the poms did and ended up lower on the rankings list .... Shows how Bias the IRB are you can Cheat and get knocked out but still climb the rankings... Can anyone explain this... as wales went in to world cup I think in 6th or 7th and are now 8th england went in at 7th and are now 5th

[jargan83]

looks like Perth is stuck with the Boks matches... a change would be in the advantage of the Wallabies

http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=29625

[James]

It is amazing how this works as the Welsh Played 1 more game in the world cup and in the Finals than the poms did and ended up lower on the rankings list .... Shows how Bias the IRB are you can Cheat and get knocked out but still climb the rankings... Can anyone explain this... as wales went in to world cup I think in 6th or 7th and are now 8th england went in at 7th and are now 5th

Yeah its a bit stupid. But then again England only lost one game and Wales lost three. Not that England didn't deserve to lose against both Scotland and Argentina. Or that Wales didn't deserve to win against France. Or South Africa.

[mudskipper]

I agree, make argentina cross like a bazillion timezones to play here. Make SA do the same to play in Sydney......try to schedule it so that it comes directly after a home game for them!

Its what they do to us in SA... Joburg!!!!