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Due to unprecedented circumstances the 2020 Rugby Championship is now mooted for November and December. The annual competition involving Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is set to be played over a six week period with all matches taking place in a single country.
An official announcement of where the matches will be is forthcoming. However, it is all but certain that the host country will be New Zealand. This being the case then the land of the All Blacks will stage the tournament from November 07 to December 12.
World Rugby have mooted a change to the international window to enable the competition to occur with teams having full access to their foreign-based players. The sport’s governing body is to thus adjust the 2020 international window from July and November.
Player rosters are yet to be confirmed, although Mario Ledesma announced a 59-man squad in May. That roster contained 14 players who were based in Europe; the number has since risen to 22. There has also ben the addition of a further player to bring the total to 60 players.
The player roster notes that preparation for the competition has technically begun. However, there have been no team training sessions in Argentina.
Additional complications involve getting from Argentina, and elsewhere, to Oceania to participate in the competition. All flights to, from and within Argentina are suspended until September. Moreover, Air New Zealand has suspended its service from Auckland to Buenos Aires. It is thereby probable that flights will via hubs in Europe and Asia.
Getting to New Zealand will be half of the problem. Also facing all players and staff members is the obligatory 14 days of quarantine upon arrival in the country. In order to be ready for the November 07 kick-off the team members will need to fly no later than October 20.
