St.George Queensland Reds 2020 Super Rugby fixtures announced
Snapshot of St.George Queensland Reds 2020 Super Rugby regular season
• 16 matches
• Eight home and eight away matches
• Two home matches on a Friday night, five home matches on a Saturday night and one home match on a Sunday afternoon
• Earlier family-friendly kick-off times
• Play four other Australian conference teams both home and away
• Two home matches against New Zealand opposition
• Five-of-eight home matches against 2019 Super Rugby finalists
• Play seven-of-eight 2019 Super Rugby finalists throughout the season
• 15 team, three conference Super Rugby format
• Eight team, seven-match finals series
St.George Queensland Reds fans will enjoy eight home matches at Suncorp Stadium in 2020 at family-friendly times including two mouth-watering matches against New Zealand opposition after SANZAAR today released the Super Rugby fixtures for next season.
Queensland will play two of their home matches on a Friday night, five matches on a Saturday night and an ANZAC Day long weekend blockbuster against Kiwi powerhouse the Highlanders on a Sunday afternoon.
Five of the Reds eight home fixtures will be against 2019 Super Rugby finalists, while they’ll play each of their four Australian conference rivals in Brisbane – including a Saturday night spectacle as the oldest rivalry in Australian Rugby continues when Queensland hosts New South Wales in Round 16.
QRU CEO David Hanham said: “Queensland fans can get excited for eight action-packed home games at Suncorp Stadium in 2020.
“We host two New Zealand heavyweights in the Hurricanes and Highlanders next year. That Highlanders game is in on the ANZAC Day long weekend at 4pm on Sunday which is a great time for families to come down and enjoy some entertaining Rugby in the afternoon sun.
“Five of our home matches are against 2019 Super Rugby finalists in the Sharks, Bulls, Brumbies, Highlanders and Hurricanes, while the other three games at Suncorp Stadium are against Australian conference teams – the Sunwolves, Rebels and Waratahs.
Reds head coach Brad Thorn said: “We look forward to seeing our fans at Suncorp Stadium next year.
“Queenslanders are among the most passionate in the country. We want to provide our fans with good performances next season.
“We’ve got two home games against quality Kiwi opposition in the Highlanders and Hurricanes.
“It’s a positive for us we get our long-haul travel out of the way early when we’ve got a fit squad.
“We look forward to the challenge that awaits us in 2020,” said Thorn.
Super Rugby CEO Andy Marinos said: “Super Rugby remains one of rugby’s premier tournaments and features many of the best teams and players in the world. The unique nature of this tournament, that covers a geographical spread across Argentina, Asia, Australia, New Zealand South Africa, not only re-inforces its global reach but the fact that it remains the toughest tournament in the world.
“2020 will see a season of uninterrupted action from February to July due to the shift of the inbound window from June to July. An earlier than usual start has been required to get through the 21-week tournament and provide the SANZAAR National Teams with a clear week leading into the July Test series.
“With the majority of our players benefitting from a longer than usual offseason due to RWC 2019, we expect the teams to deliver another compelling tournament across its 120 matches. One that produces a competitive race for Finals similar to that which we saw this year when 11 teams were still in the hunt for a Finals berth on the last weekend,” said Marinos.
The Reds 2020 campaign begins in Canberra on Friday 31 January taking on Australian conference champions the Brumbies at GIO Stadium.
Queensland are again on the road in Rounds 2 and 3 as they embark on a two-week tour of South Africa and South America.
The Reds play the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday 8 February before departing for Argentina to face 2019 Grand Finalists the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
Queensland’s first home game is in Round 4 on Saturday 22 February against the Sunwolves in their final match at Suncorp Stadium, before the
Japanese club is disbanded following the 2020 Super Rugby season.
The following Saturday night the Reds are at home again as they host 2019 Super Rugby quarterfinalists the Sharks, who they famously defeated in Durban last season for the first time in 15 years.
A tough task awaits Queensland in Round 6 playing 10-time Super Rugby champions the Crusaders in Christchurch, before returning home to host the Pretoria-based Bulls on Saturday 14 March.
Following a bye in Round 8, the Reds enjoy a four-week block against fellow Australian conference teams including home matches against the Brumbies (Friday 27 March) and Rebels (Saturday 11 April), while they’ll travel to Tokyo for the final time to face the Sunwolves in Round 10 (Sunday 5 April) and also Sydney against the Waratahs in Round 12 (Saturday 18 April).
The next weekend sees Queensland host the Highlanders on Sunday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium as part of the ANZAC Day long weekend before enjoying their second bye of the season in Round 14.
The Reds travel internationally for the final time in Round 15 when they play the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 9 May.
Queensland has a favourable run to the finals with two of their three remaining matches at home.
It kicks off with back-to-back games at Suncorp Stadium against the Waratahs on Saturday 16 May, followed by 2019 Super Rugby semi-finalists the Hurricanes on Friday 22 May.
The Reds finish the 2020 regular season away in Melbourne on Saturday 30 May against the Rebels at AAMI Park.
Super Rugby’s continued international footprint will see matches played in six countries across the 18-week regular season, with matches played in Singapore, Japan, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The World Rugby international Test match window for inbound matches/tours to Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is now in July so this allows Super Rugby to be played uninterrupted across the 21-week tournament timeframe.
St.George Queensland Reds 2020 Super Rugby Fixtures
Round 1: Brumbies v Reds
Friday 31 January – GIO Stadium, Canberra at 6:15pm
Round 2: Lions v Reds
Saturday 8 February – Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg at 11:05pm
Round 3: Jaguares v Reds
Sunday 16 February – José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires at 7:40am
Round 4: Reds v Sunwolves
Saturday 22 February – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 6:15pm
Round 5: Reds v Sharks
Saturday 29 February – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 6:15pm
Round 6: Crusaders v Reds
Friday 6 March – Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch at 4:05pm
Round 7: Reds v Bulls
Saturday 14 March – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 6:15pm
Round 8: Bye
Round 9: Reds v Brumbies
Friday 27 March – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 6:15pm
Round 10: Sunwolves v Reds
Sunday 5 April – Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo at 3:15pm
Round 11: Reds v Rebels
Saturday 11 April – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 7:15pm
Round 12: Waratahs v Reds
Saturday 18 April – TBC, Sydney at 7:15pm
Round 13: Reds v Highlanders
Sunday 26 April – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 4:05pm
Round 14: Bye
Round 15: Blues v Reds
Saturday 9 May – Eden Park, Auckland at 5:05pm
Round 16: Reds v Waratahs
Saturday 16 May – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 7:15pm
Round 17: Reds v Hurricanes
Friday 22 May – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 7:15pm
Round 18: Rebels v Reds
Saturday 30 May – AAMI Park, Melbourne at 7:15pm
*all times are listed as Queensland local time (AEST)
**dates, times and venues are subject to change by SANZAAR
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