Australia's NRC starts with cracker

 

The game is a mouthwatering re-match of the 2014 grand final and will be played at Ballymore Stadium on August 20.

 

The 2015 NRC will visit regional areas across the Eastern seaboard of Australia in New South Wales [Tamworth, Newcastle and Bathurst], Queensland [Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast] and Victoria [Frankston, Morwell and Geelong].

 

A pair of all-New South Wales blockbusters also catch the eye in Round One, with the North Harbour Rays entertaining the Sydney Stars at Manly Oval, while the New South Wales Country Eagles travel to Merrylands  Park to take on the Greater Sydney Rams.

 

The Queensland derby headlines Round Three when Queensland Country host Brisbane City at the Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba.

 

For the first time, the Melbourne Rising will take its home NRC fixtures outside of the city when they play the Greater Sydney Rams in Morwell in Round Five, the New South Wales Country Eagles at Simonds Stadium in Geelong in Round Seven and the Sydney Stars at Frankston Oval in Round Nine.

 

Perth Spirit will be looking for a similar result from last year's semifinal against the Melbourne Rising when they meet the same opponents at McGillivray Fields in Mount Claremont, Perth in Round Six. Another derby features on the same weekend with the Sydney Stars playing the Greater Sydney Rams at Leichhardt Oval.

 

With the top four sides on the ladder at the end of the regular season making the finals, the NRC semifinals will take place on the weekend of  October 24/25, with the grand final a week later.

 

In 2014, the Australian Rugby Union introduced a host of new law variations and innovations to encourage attacking, free-flowing Rugby. By the end of the inaugural season, there were 358 tries in 39 matches, an average of 9.2 a game.