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Locked in: Super Rugby Australia kick-off date confirmed as broadcast deal finalised
By AAP
Rugby Australia has reached a deal with Fox Sports to broadcast the new-look Super Rugby Australia competition, which will get underway on July 3.
The two parties signed off on the crucial agreement on Wednesday for the revised arrangement following the shutdown of the international Super Rugby competition after seven rounds.
The five-team competition, which features the four Australian Super Rugby teams plus the Western Force, will be contested over 12 consecutive weekends and broadcast live.
Foxtel also announced it had reached an agreement to air the New Zealand Super Rugby Aotearoa competition, which starts this weekend.
Under massive financial pressure, RA had been sweating on the deal to bring some much-needed funds back into the code.
There were fears that Foxtel may have played hard-ball and elected not to broadcast the new competition after negotiations broke down earlier this year for a new deal beyond 2020.
Will all teams starting on zero points, the Super Rugby AU season gets underway in Brisbane with the Queensland Reds hosting the NSW Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, July 3.
The following night in Canberra, the Brumbies will host the Melbourne Rebels.
Western Force will begin its campaign in round two after an opening-round bye.
The competition will involve 10 weeks of round-robin matches before a two-week finals series featuring a qualifying final on September 12 and a final on September 19.
Rugby Australia interim CEO Rob Clarke said the next step was to announce the test-match schedule.
"We will continue to work closely with Fox Sports and Foxtel on the schedule for the international season following the revised Super Rugby tournament and look forward to making further exciting announcements with regards to our 2020 test-match schedule," Clarke said.
"Our focus is now back where it should be, getting Super Rugby AU up and running next month and watching our five Australian teams go head-to-head in week after week of Aussie derby action."
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Go to commentsBM My rugby fanaticism journey began as a youngster waking up in the early hours of the morning with a cup of coffee to watch the Boks play the ABs on that 1981 rebel tour, where we lost the last game in the dying seconds to a penalty, and ended up losing the series 2-1. Danie Gerber, Naas Botha, Ray Mordt, and DuPlessis, to name a few; what a team! I believe we could've won another World Cup with those boys playing in their prime.
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