Mazda Australian Rugby Championship

The new Mazda Australian Rugby Championship kicks off this year on 11 August, with the Final on 14 October to decide the inaugural Champions.

Featuring more than 90 contracted professional players competing for teams from Western Australia, the ACT, Victoria, NSW and Queensland, the Australian Rugby Championship promises to be a national Rugby competition that is second to none.

The need for a national competition has been discussed and debated for more than ten years. In May 2006, the Australian Rugby Union hosted one of the most inclusive consultation processes the sport has seen. A two-day workshop was held involving 70 of Australia’s leading administrators, coaches, players, club representatives and referees who worked through all the issues and came up with a commonly agreed position of an eight-team national competition.