Rugby Championship venues agreed - reports

Southern Hemisphere sources report that arrangements are now in place that allow the Rugby Championship to play to a conclusion.
And contrary to recent speculation, according to the New Zealand Herald, the competition will not be moved en bloc to Europe or South Africa.
The All Blacks will instead travel to Australia to play the third Bledisloe Cup match in Perth’s Opta Stadium next weekend.
They will then be joined in Queensland by the travelling South African and Argentinian teams for the rest of the Rugby Championship.
New Zealand’s governing body received fierce criticism for pulling out of last weekend’s scheduled trip to Western Australia’s capital.
NZ Rugby cited uncertainty surrounding whether Europe, Queensland or South Africa would host the four-nation tournament following outbreaks of the Delta variant as the rationale for not travelling.
Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos responded with a strong statement which accused NZ Rugby of a lack of consultation.
With New Zealand's borders shut amidst a nationwide lockdown due to the most recent community outbreak, the All Blacks now face 15 weeks away from home.
Australia’s Fox Sports describes the decision to host the remainder of the tournament in Queensland as “a coup for Australian rugby.”
They go on to credit Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as “moving heaven and earth” to secure the championship before suggesting an official announcement will be made on Tuesday.
Rugby Australia is reported to be hopeful that the Perth test will be played on either September 3 or 4 but the date is yet to be finalised due to a possible AFL clash.
This solution means the Springboks will play four tests – including their historic 100th Test against New Zealand – down under.
Fox Sports claim that four double-headers will take place between September 10 and October 3, played in Brisbane, Townsville and on the Gold Coast.
Following the Rugby Championship all four nations head north to Europe for their end of year tours.
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Good,
France - England
Inbetween,
Scotland - Italy
Bad,
Ireland - Wales
Go to commentsAssessing the overall state of Romanian rugby is quite challenging, as it's a mixed bag with both positives and negatives.
Club Finances & Player Salaries: Teams like Steaua and Dinamo have solid financial backing and can pay their players well—often more than clubs in the French 4th division and sometimes even the 3rd. This financial stability is a key reason why many Romanian players choose to stay rather than move to lower-tier French leagues.
Professionalism & Foreign Influence: The SuperLiga, with its six teams, maintains a strong professional setup. This attracts many foreign players, which raises the overall level of competition. However, this also makes it difficult for young Romanian players to transition into the top league, as the jump from training 2-3 times a week to a full-time professional setup is significant.
Facilities: While some clubs, like Steaua, have modern facilities, others, such as Timișoara, struggle with inadequate infrastructure. Outside the SuperLiga, the situation is even worse—many clubs still rely on outdated communist-era facilities. Since most don’t own their stadiums, investment in improvements is minimal. Clubs risk losing their grounds to football academies (e.g., Tei - Bucharest), real estate developments (e.g., Brașov), or stalled public projects (e.g., Brăila’s unfinished Olympic pool, under construction for 15 years).
League Structure & Future Growth: The first division remains fully professional and competitive compared to other second-tier leagues in Europe. However, with only six teams, expansion seems unlikely in the next 1-2 years. Meanwhile, second-division teams are barely surviving.
Junior Development: Youth rugby is in decline, with fewer teams and players than before. However, there are promising efforts to establish privately funded clubs, particularly at the mini-rugby level.
Overall, while the top-tier league is stable, Romanian rugby still faces major challenges in infrastructure, youth development, and league expansion.
In theory, the current state should be enough to keep us among the top 24 teams in the world, ensuring Rugby World Cup qualification and potentially climbing a few spots in the World Rankings - but not much beyond that. However, I can also see us occasionally missing out on a World Cup or having to go through the repechage if we falter on the wrong day.
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