Eighteen months ago, if someone had suggested that the 100th meeting between rugby’s two traditional superpowers – the Springboks and the All Blacks – would take place in Townsville, Queensland, they would have been led quietly away for a lie-down.

But Covid-19 has ensured that almost nothing is beyond the realms of possibility. On Tuesday it was confirmed that the world-champion Springboks and the All Blacks would bring up their century of meetings at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

That fixture forms part of four weekends of back-to-back Rugby Championship Tests across the state of Queensland. The 25,000-seater stadium, which opened in early 2020, is home to the North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League team and is expected to have at least 50% capacity for the matches.

It was the best-case outcome after a tense five days of meetings between the partners in the South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina (Sanzaar) alliance.

Handré Pollard of South Africa avoids the tackle of Ben Smith and Jack Goodhue of the All Blacks during a 2019 Rugby Championship Test at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. (Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The most positive development from a Springbok perspective is that the players and management will be able to lead something resembling a “normal life” for the bulk of their stay once they have gone through 14 days of quarantine.

And even the quarantine will not be as strict as other places such as Western Australia, where the Boks would have been expected to be confined to their rooms. In Queensland, the Boks and Pumas will be accommodated in one hotel and be able to move freely throughout the venue.

And crucially they will be able to train while in quarantine. Once that period is over and they are cleared of Covid, all the players will be permitted to move freely through the various cities and emerge from the bio-bubbles that have entrapped the Boks for two months.

“The two-week quarantine period means we will be on tour for just under six weeks, but we are looking forward to experiencing normal life after a year and a half of living under several forms of adjusted Covid-19 restrictions in South Africa,” said Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber. 

“This will certainly assist in ensuring that the players are fresh mentally when they take the field, which is essential for them to peak in form.”

Sanzaar tension as Boks eye Six Nations

The 2021 tournament faced cancellation following New Zealand Rugby’s decision on 19 August to pull the All Blacks out of a scheduled Test against the Wallabies in Perth over quarantine requirements.

It threw the immediate future of the 2021 tournament into turmoil and led to public discord between Rugby Australia, SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby.

Both Rugby Australia and SA Rugby accused New Zealand Rugby of acting unilaterally and only in the interests of the All Blacks. Despite media releases praising each other after announcing the Queensland deal, the damage caused to the alliance will take some mending.

Springbok Siya Kolisi breaks through a tackle by Will Genia of the Wallabies during a Rugby Championship clash at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on September 8 2018. (Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

The bad blood saw Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos and Wallaby coach Dave Rennie both accuse New Zealand Rugby of acting in bad faith, which New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson denied, although the evidence against his organisation was compelling.

A solution for 2021 may have been found, but Sanzaar’s future remains complicated and spiked with distrust, self-interest and lack of clarity.

SA Rugby’s move to join the northern hemisphere at provincial level by securing places for its four leading franchises in the United Rugby Championship, starting next month, has left Rugby Australia particularly vulnerable to New Zealand Rugby’s bullying tactics.

Australian rugby lacks the commercial and playing muscle of New Zealand and without SA Rugby’s full engagement in Sanzaar, New Zealand Rugby will continue to push the limits of self-interest in the future. But in the past, Rugby Australia made it clear they would be happy to see the back of South Africa and Argentina. That position looks increasingly ill-advised because it has become clear that New Zealand Rugby are not going to “play nice”.

The Springboks celebrate winning the 2019 Rugby Championship after beating Argentina at Padre Ernesto Martearena Stadium in Salta, Argentina. (Photo: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Currently, the Sanzaar parties are united at Test level through the Rugby Championship, but SA Rugby’s ultimate goal is to find a place for the Springboks at the lucrative Six Nations table. 

If the Boks are included in the northern hemisphere’s showpiece international tournament, the Rugby Championship will face an even more uncertain future.

How did Queensland come about?

Queensland had always been pencilled in as the back-up plan to the original Rugby Championship schedule where Sydney, Brisbane, Dunedin and Auckland respectively were set to host the last four rounds.

But a spike in Covid cases saw New Zealand close its doors to travellers earlier this month while other states in Australia such as New South Wales and Western Australia also placed tougher demands on travellers.

Queensland, which isn’t at the same restriction level as the rest of Australia, made the most sense, although reports have suggested New Zealand Rugby wanted the Rugby Championship to play out in the UK and Europe.

In the end, the UK/Europe option was simply too expensive and would only have been a last resort after Sanzaar agreed that South Africa was the back-up plan to Queensland. New Zealand Rugby were forced into a corner because, had they rejected Queensland, they would have had to travel to South Africa – an even less desirable outcome for them.

Pieter-Steph du Toit on the run during the Springboks’ 2019 Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Padre Ernesto Martearena Stadium in Salta, Argentina. (Photo: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

“When we looked at the construct of the Rugby Championship this year, it was always going to be held between Australia and New Zealand. And when New Zealand’s position changed because of the Covid-19 outbreak, Australia remained the preferred option,” Rugby Australia chief Marinos said. 

“So I think everyone just believed that we needed to close that loop before we looked at anything else.

“We really had confirmation of the match schedule a couple of days ago; it was getting this managed isolation piece sorted, literally minutes before our Sanzaar call last night we got the confirmation from the premier’s office and the director-general.

“It was very welcome news and well received by our Sanzaar partners. Getting the Queensland solution through was the preferred position of the CEOs and it’s a delight to get it through.

“Whilst the Tests are all being played as double-headers, there are home games for different countries, so we will have discussions about preferred kick-off times for their markets.” 

Townsville will be centre of the rugby world for a day

Matches will be played in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville while Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby are still trying to reach an agreement where and when the round-two clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks can take place.

The Springboks and Argentina’s Pumas have completed their first two fixtures of the 2021 tournament. The Boks won both Tests in Gqeberha by 32-12 and 29-10.

The Queensland Country Bank Stadium Townsville, Queensland. (Photo: Black Bee Studio/Flickr)

Townsville, a small city on Brisbane’s northeastern coast, is the gateway for tourists to reach the central part of the Great Barrier Reef. It boasts a population of 180,000 and a mild climate. But it’s not a rugby union stronghold.

It hosted three Rugby World Cup 2003 Pool B matches. They all featured Japan in losses against Scotland, France and Fiji. But since then the city has seen precious little rugby and no Tests.

“We are pleased that the Rugby Championship match schedule has been finalised and we are looking forward to continuing our campaign in Australia,” said Nienaber.

Lukhanyo Am of the Springboks on the charge during a 2019 Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

“We can now continue our planning to ensure that the players are ready for the next four matches from a physical and mental point of view, and we are excited about facing our old foes Australia and New Zealand again after kicking off the tournament well against Argentina.” DM 

2021 RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES AND MATCH SCHEDULE

Round One

Saturday, 14 August: New Zealand 57 Australia 22 at Eden Park, Auckland

Saturday, 14 August: South Africa 32 Argentina 12 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha

Round Two

Saturday, 21 August: Argentina 10 South Africa 29 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha

Date TBC: Australia v New Zealand – Optus Stadium, Perth

Round Three

Sunday, 12 September: New Zealand v Argentina at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast 

Sunday,  12 September:  South Africa v Australia at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast 

Round Four

Saturday, 18 September: Argentina v New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Saturday, 18 September: Australia v South Africa at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Round Five

Saturday, 25 September: Australia v Argentina at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville 

Saturday, 25 September: New Zealand v South Africa at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville 

Round Six

Saturday, 2 October: Argentina v Australia at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast 

Saturday, 2 October: South Africa v New Zealand at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast.