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2006 Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series and Tri Nations Series
December 16, 2005 - 11:21am
Story by: ARU
The 2006 Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series has now been confirmed after the South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions (SANZAR) finalised the schedule for the new, expanded Tri Nations series today.
The Qantas Wallabies will play six Tests at home in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, as well as two away Tests in New Zealand and one in South Africa.
It is a bumper year for Australian Rugby fans, with five big trophies up for grabs - the Cook Cup (England), Lansdowne Cup (Ireland), Mandela Plate (South Africa), Bledisloe Cup (New Zealand) and the Tri Nations Trophy.
The season gets underway when the Wallabies take on England in Sydney on the Queen's Birthday long weekend, with the ARU currently considering playing this Test on the Sunday night (11 June).
The 2nd Test against England will be played in Melbourne the next weekend (17 June), with the Wallabies needing to win both Tests, or at least secure a win and a draw, to get their hands back on the Cook Cup.
This will be followed by the Lansdowne Cup Test against Ireland in Perth on 24 June, before the inaugural nine-match Tri Nations series kicks off in Christchurch on 8 July with the first of three Bledisloe Cup Tests. It is the first time the grand old silverware has been contested over a three-Test series since Australia's clean sweep in 1998.
The Wallabies will host the Springboks in Brisbane on 15 July, before Bledisloe Cup Rugby makes a triumphant return to Brisbane on 29 July for the first time since 1996.
This will be followed by a home Test against the Springboks on 5 August in Sydney, and two weeks later the deciding Bledisloe Cup Test will be played in Auckland on a date to be confirmed. The NZRU are currently exploring the possibility of this being a Friday night Test, so it is currently scheduled as either Friday 18 or Saturday 19 August.
The action then heads to the Republic with the last three Tri Nations Tests in South Africa, including the Wallabies third Test against the Springboks on 9 September.
ARU Managing Director and CEO Gary Flowers said 2006 would be a bumper year for Rugby fans.
"We have an action-packed Test schedule in 2006 against the world's top teams.
"Rugby fans will see the Wallabies play nine Tests in total, including a total of six Tests in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
"The Tooheys New Super 14 kicks off in only 56 days and will be followed closely by the Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series, so there will be seven months of wall-to-wall Rugby from February 10 until September 9 next year."
Sat 10/Sun 11 June (TBC)*
Wallabies v England
Cook Cup
Sydney
Saturday 17 June
Wallabies v England
Cook Cup
Melbourne
Saturday 24 June
Wallabies v Ireland
Lansdowne Cup
Perth
Saturday 8 July
All Blacks v Wallabies
Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup
Christchurch
Saturday 15 July
Wallabies v Springboks
Tri Nations and Mandela Plate
Brisbane
Saturday 22 July
All Blacks v Springboks
Tri Nations
Wellington
Saturday 29 July
Wallabies v All Blacks
Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup
Brisbane
Saturday 5 August
Wallabies v Springboks
Tri Nations and Mandela Plate
Sydney
Saturday 12 August
Bye
Fri 18/Sat 19 August (TBC)
All Blacks v Wallabies
Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup
Auckland
Saturday 26 August
Springboks v All Blacks
Tri Nations
TBC
Saturday 2 September
Springboks v All Blacks
Tri Nations
TBC
Saturday 9 September
Springboks v Wallabies
Tri Nations and Mandela Plate
TBC
* Queen's Birthday long weekend