The Plus500 Brumbies will take on the best of New Zealand rugby following Rugby Australia (RA) and New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) announcement of a new crossover competition for the 2021 season.
The Trans-Tasman tournament, which will follow Super Rugby AU, will feature an additional 26 games over six straight weeks, kicking off on Friday 14 May next year, with a Final on Saturday 19 June 2021.
The competition will feature all 10 Super Rugby teams with the Brumbies playing each New Zealand team once, two home and two away with an exciting ‘Super Round’ added where all matches in Round Three will be played at one location, over one weekend.
Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby will announce the process to select the location of the ‘Super Round’ in due course.
The Final will be played between the top two placed teams on the combined competition table with the team who finished first to host the decider.
Kick-off times, dates and venues will be announced in due course, while details on 2021 Brumbies memberships will be confirmed shortly.
All 26 matches in the tournament will be live and on demand, ad-free, through Stan’s new streaming sport package which will launch in 2021 in Australia.
A selected match during each week of the tournament will also be simulcast live free-to-air on the Nine Network.
Plus500 Brumbies CEO Phil Thomson said: “The announcement this morning from RA and NZR is a huge step for us at the Brumbies and for rugby in Australia.”
“The success of Super Rugby AU in 2020 showed that fans want that element of Tribalism in the game, and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman following the domestic competition next season is something we believe rugby people will get behind.
“Some details are still to be confirmed but we will have more information for our Brumbies family about memberships and ticketing for the 2021 season very soon.”
Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke said: “This is a truly historic day for Rugby in the southern hemisphere, with the first-ever Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby competition.
“This will generate enormous excitement across both countries with some of the best players in the world set to challenge each other after the conclusion of Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa.
“It will be a really exciting new product for our 2021 broadcast partners, Stan and Nine, and I know fans right around the world will be glued to their screens and devices to watch it all.
“The Super Round is also great initiative with one lucky city to host all 10 teams on one weekend in a Super Rugby extravaganza. “I’d like to thank Mark Robinson and his team at New Zealand Rugby for working so closely with us. Bring on 2021!” Clarke said.
New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Mark Robinson said: “Super Rugby Trans-Tasman is a great result for fans on both sides of the Tasman and is testament to the strength of the relationship between New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia.
“It’s been a testing time for rugby in both countries, but also a chance to reimagine the game in our part of the world for 2021. The result is an exciting and innovative new competition, which will benefit fans, players, broadcasters and Super clubs.
“We all know how special the rivalry between New Zealand and Australia is when it comes to sport and this tournament will add another exciting chapter. The banter between Rob Clarke and I have already begun and I’m sure fans will feel the same,” Robinson said.
Plus500 Brumbies 2021 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman draw*
Round One 14-15 May 2021
Crusaders v Plus500 Brumbies
Round Two 21-22 May 2021
Chiefs v Plus500 Brumbies
Round Three - Super Round 28-29 May 2021
Plus500 Brumbies v Blues
Round Four 4-5 June 2021
Plus500 Brumbies v Hurricanes
Round Five 11-12 June 2021
Plus500 Brumbies v Highlanders
Final Saturday 19 June 2021
*draw subject to change
