Pumas to 'debut' on Gold Coast

The Wallabies will take on World Cup quarterfinalists Argentina in a historic showdown at Skilled Park, Gold Coast, when the game’s latest jewel in the crown – Rugby Championship – is launched next year.

The new Rugby Championship replaces the Tri-Nations series next year, following the inclusion of Argentina alongside the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks.

The Rugby Championship will involve six Tests for each of the four competing nations as they play home and away in the ultimate contest for southern hemisphere heavyweights.

The Wallabies will open the Rugby Championship against World Cup semifinal opponents and eventual winners the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday, August 18.

The showdown with two-time World Cup winners South Africa will be played in Perth on Saturday, September 8, while Argentina will take on the Wallabies in a historic Test at the Gold Coast on Saturday, September 15.

The inclusion of Gold Coast on the international program is part of a long-term deal for Tests in Queensland struck between Australian Rugby Union and the Queensland Government, through Events Queensland.

The 10-year agreement also makes allowances for four Bledisloe Cup Tests in Brisbane over the next decade with the first of them to be staged on October 20, 2012.

The trans-Tasman blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium will be the last of three Tests between the Wallabies and All Blacks next year and will sit outside Rugby Championship – on Saturday, October 20.

The first two Tests of the Bledisloe Cup series – in Sydney on August 18 and Auckland on August 25 – will be incorporated into the Rugby Championship.

Meantime, the announcement of a Test at Skilled Park has continued Gold Coast’s emergence as a host for major Rugby events with the Gold Coast Sevens – Fever Pitch tournament making its debut on the Australian calendar later this month.

The inaugural Gold Coast Test will hold enormous interest as it marks the arrival of the Argentina Pumas into the new southern hemisphere Championship.

The Pumas were lauded for the way they tested the All Blacks in a gripping World Cup quarterfinal in Auckland last month.

It will also be the last Test at home for the Wallabies in Rugby Championship next year.

The Wallabies will open The Rugby Championship with a Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, 18 August.

They will also play two-time World Cup winners South Africa in Perth on Saturday, September 8.

Australian Rugby Union Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill said confirmation of the Rugby Championship underlined the ongoing evolution of the game in the southern hemisphere since the code went professional in 1996.

“Launching the Rugby Championship, and taking a Test to the Gold Coast for the first time is wonderful for the game,” said O’Neill.

“Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have won six of the seven World Cups contested and Argentina reached the semifinals in 2007 and gave the All Blacks a tough hit out in the quarterfinals of the 2011 RWC.

“Argentina has waited a long time to play in a regular competition at the highest level and their inclusion into Rugby Championship from 2012 provides that opportunity.

“They will be out to enhance their reputation further on the Gold Coast.

“It will be a Test not to be missed and it’s why the Rugby Championship is such a mouth watering prospect.

“To bring our four nations together and have them playing home and away in destinations so diverse in culture, weather and landscape will be spectacular.

“This will be the best of the best. It is why the name the Rugby Championship sits so comfortably.”

O’Neill said the Gold Coast Test would form part of a memorable 2012 program.

The Rugby Championship will kick-off in 2012 on August 18 and conclude on October 6, 2012.

To balance additional travel requirements due to the inclusion of a fourth team to the former Tri-Nations, fixtures have been scheduled in two-week blocks with week-long travel byes in-between.

“The Rugby Championship will be the best of the best and represents the latest stage in the evolution of the game in the southern hemisphere,” said O’Neill.

“The All Blacks are the No.1 side in the world, the Wallabies are No.2, the Springboks are No.4 and Argentina is No.7.

“This will be an exciting, enthralling, intense Championship of home and away matches between four heavyweight nations.

“On top of the announcement last week of the International against Scotland on June 5, and the Welsh Tour which includes three Tests the same month, confirmation of Rugby Championship adds further lustre to the 2012 program.

“It will be a magnificent season of international Rugby in Australia, with eight Tests domestically.

“We are also introducing two new Test venues in Newcastle for the Scottish game and the Gold Coast for the Argentina match.”