Rugby restart: When are all the major competitions returning?
Bryn Gatland scores the winning points for the Highlanders against the Chiefs in one of rugby’s first games since the coronavirus crisis.
Credit: Marty Melville/AFP.
With the never-ending cycle of news we currently live in driving us mad, it can be hard to keep tabs on the recent rugby developments and when our great game will finally make it’s full return.
The Flanker has you covered. Whereas some competitions are back, others have only just set dates for when they kick off again and some have even been cancelled outright. With new rules and regulations also involved, we have you sorted about what the future holds for rugby in 2020.
Started already- Super Rugby Aotearoa, Super Rugby AU
The New Zealand government's swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed its top tier rugby competition Super Rugby Aotearoa to go ahead first, with fans in attendance. The tournament has been a huge success so far and proved how much sport relies on spectators.
Novel rules have been also introduced, including the ability to sub on a replacement for a red carded player after 20 minutes and a new golden point system during extra time if a match is all square after 80 minutes.
The competition will continue to go ahead with fans in attendance, with the round-robin tournament expected to wrap up on August 16.
The Australia Super Rugby competition, Super Rugby AU, was the next competition to get underway, which it did on July 3.
To buff up the competition the Western Force, who lost their place in Super Rugby in 2017, have been drafted in to take the competition to five teams, including the Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies.
After the round-robin phase is completed, 2nd place will take on 3rd place in a qualifying final before the Grand Final takes place a week later on September 19.
With the competition also adopting the new rules seen in the New Zealand competition, Super Rugby AU will feature goal line dropouts if an attacking player is held up over the line, marks only allowed in a defending teams in-goal area, as well as Rugby League-style 50/22 and 22/50 rules.
Return date set - Pro 14, Premiership
Meanwhile, Pro 14 officials announced its competition would return from a five-month absence on Friday August 21, with teams from the same nation playing each other in home and away games to complete a shortened 15-game season.
The Pro 14 is set for an 22 August start.
Credit: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
The top two in each conference will then compete in semi-finals, with the final to be played on 12 September.
Although a venue for the game has not been confirmed as of yet, as it stands the semi-finalists would be Leinster and Ulster in Conference A and Edinburgh and Munster in Conference B.
Qualification for the European Champions Cup will be decided with the current league standings, which means alongside the top two in Conference A and B, Glasgow Warriors and Scarlets will also join Europe’s premier competition.
The Cheetahs and the Southern Kings will take no further part in this season’s competition.
Premiership Rugby has followed suit in confirming an August return date for the competition, with Friday August 14 the set date as Harlequins take on Sale to kick things off.
The competition’s fixtures up to the end of August, encompassing four rounds in total, have been set, with kickoff times and broadcast schedules yet to be confirmed.
In contrast to the Pro14, the Gallagher Premiership is still set to be completed in full, with the date of the final currently set for October 24.
Cancelled- French Top 14, Top League, Major League Rugby
The only European rugby competition to cancel its season, the Top 14 announced on 6 May it would end immediately without promotion or relegation to Pro D2, French rugby’s second tier, with no champion announced either.
Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) said they would wait to hand out Champions Cup places until they heard from European rugby’s governing body, the EPCR, on how the format for the competition in 2020/21 season would look.
Were it done under the current standings, Bordeaux Begles, Lyon, Racing, Toulon, La Rochelle and Clermont would all gain entry into the competition.
Japan’s premier division, the Top League, went the same way as the Top 14 by cancelling its season on March 23. As of writing, there has been no update from the JRFU on when the 2020-21 season will start.
Meanwhile the 2020 USA Major League Rugby season was cancelled even earlier than the Top 14 and Top League, with officials calling the league null and void on March 19. However, MLR commissioner George Kilebrew vowed the 2021 season would go ahead.
Unknown - South African Super Rugby competition
Although not announced yet, there has been considerable talk to start a similar competition to Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU in the Rainbow Nation.
South Africa Rugby CEO, Jurie Roux, is keen to get both a Super Rugby and Currie Cup competition sorted for August, however no official date or structure has thus far been mentioned.
Speaking on June 8, he added: “We believe we have a comprehensive and scientifically rigorous set of protocols to minimise the risk of transmission and allow a return to competitive rugby within the next two months.
“We have planned meticulously for the moment and know we have the infrastructure and capacity within our professional playing environment to safely deliver those protocols.”
The South African representatives in the Pro14 have been withdrawn from this season’s competition as the nation assesses the possibilities for rugby’s return.
