The 2020 Super Rugby Draw has today been officially revealed with the Melbourne Rebels set to host eight epic blockbusters in their tenth season of Super Rugby.
- Huge back to back home games in April against the Crusaders and the Blues
- First ever trip to Buenos Aires to take on the 2019 Runners-Up, the Jaguares
- Blockbuster first home game in Round 3 against arch rivals NSW
- New earlier kick-off times to encourage family attendance.
An earlier than normal start to Super Rugby will see the Rebels open their 2020 campaign away against the Sunwolves on February 1 in Fukuoka, before travelling to take on the reigning Australian Conference Champion Brumbies in Canberra in Round 2.
The Rebels first home game of 2020 will be a re-match of the Rebels first ever game at the Stockade against arch rivals the NSW Waratahs on Friday 14 February.
A pair of home matches against South African opposition (the Sharks and Lions) in Rounds 4 and 6 are punctuated by a visit to Dunedin in Round 5, with the Rebels first bye of the season coming in Round 7.
The Rebels will play their first ever home game away from AAMI Park against the Sharks on the afternoon of Saturday 22 February with a venue to be confirmed shortly due to an iconic concert line-up at the venue.
The 2:45pm kick-off presents a great opportunity to have a nostalgic afternoon Rugby home game experience for our members and fans. The two byes for the Club are well balanced this season with the Round 7 and 15 breaks punctuating the season into three clear performance blocks for the Rugby program.
After playing the Sunwolves at the Stockade post Bye on Friday March 20, the Rebels embark on one of their most difficult and exciting tours in Club history; tackling the Stormers in Cape Town before flying to Argentina for the first time to take on 2019 Runners-Up, the Jaguares.
As they did in 2019, the squad will then visit Brisbane upon their return to Australia in Round 11 before as they return home for two epic encounters.
Round 12 sees the Rebels host the 2018 and 2019 Super Rugby Champion Crusaders at the Stockade on Friday 17 April before ramping up for an ANZAC Day Eve thriller against the Blues on Friday 24 April in Round 13.
Round 14 sees the Rebels return fixture against the Waratahs, traveling to the Harbour City for a super Saturday special on 2 May before enjoying the second and final weekend off in Round 15.
From there it is a three-game sprint towards Finals qualification. Crucial intra conference games against the Brumbies on Friday 15 May and the Reds on Saturday 30 May are split by an imposing trip to Hamilton to take on the Chiefs on Friday 22 May.
Comment from Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson on the 2020 Draw:
“With the draw now finalised there is a real sense of anticipation as we build towards February. We’ve worked collaboratively with SANZAAR to lock in some sensational matches at the Stockade and there are new destinations and frontiers for us to conquer as we take Melbourne to the world.’
“For our members and fans, I am most excited about some of the subtle evolutions of the schedule. As part of our end of season member survey, there was a lot of feedback around kick off times making it hard for families to attend games at the Stockade. The new 7:15pm is an important recognition that we want to be more family-friendly and our one-off Saturday afternoon game on 22 February is a chance to enjoy afternoon Rugby and a carnival atmosphere.’
“Our first-ever ANZAC commemorative match, where the players will wear a commemorative jersey, against the Blues on ANZAC Day eve is shaping as a really special occasion. We are really committed to respecting the significance of ANZAC Day to Australians and New Zealanders and it’s going to be a great spectacle on field too.”
Full Melbourne Rebels 2020 Fixture
|
Rd |
H/A |
Day |
Date |
Opponent |
Where |
KO (AEST) |
|
1 |
A |
Saturday |
1 February |
Sunwolves |
Fukuoka |
2:45pm |
|
2 |
A |
Friday |
7 February |
Brumbies |
Canberra |
7:15pm |
|
3 |
H |
Friday |
14 February |
Waratahs |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
4 |
H |
Saturday |
22 February |
Sharks |
TBC |
2:45pm |
|
5 |
A |
Friday |
28 February |
Highlanders |
Dunedin |
5:05pm |
|
6 |
H |
Saturday |
7 March |
Lions |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
7 |
Bye |
|||||
|
8 |
H |
Friday |
20 March |
Sunwolves |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
9 |
A |
Sunday |
29 March |
Stormers |
Cape Town |
2:15am |
|
10 |
A |
Sunday |
5 April |
Jaguares |
Buenos Aires |
7:40am |
|
11 |
A |
Saturday |
11 April |
Reds |
Brisbane |
7:15pm |
|
12 |
H |
Friday |
17 April |
Crusaders |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
13 |
H |
Friday |
24 April |
Blues |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
14 |
A |
Saturday |
2 May |
Waratahs |
Sydney |
7:15pm |
|
15 |
Bye |
|||||
|
16 |
H |
Friday |
15 May |
Brumbies |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
|
17 |
A |
Friday |
22 May |
Chiefs |
Hamilton |
5:05pm |
|
18 |
H |
Saturday |
30 May |
Reds |
AAMI Park |
7:15pm |
About the Super Rugby Tournament Format
The tournament’s 15-team, three-conference format remains the same in 2020. Each team plays 16 regular season conference matches that include eight matches within their own Conference (home and away) and four matches against teams from each of the other Conferences (home or away). Each team also has two byes. This is a total of 120 matches in the regular season.
Australia Conference: Brumbies, Rebels, Reds, Waratahs, Sunwolves [Japan]
New Zealand Conference: Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes
South African Conference: Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Stormers, Jaguares [Argentina]
The Finals series will again comprise a seven-match, three-week, eight-team finals series. Each of the three Conference winners will host a quarter-final. The team with the most tournament points that is not a Conference winner, regardless of Conference, will host the fourth quarter-final. This Wildcard team will be joined in the quarter-finals by the next best four Wildcard teams based on tournament points and regardless of Conference.
