Nine Team NRC Draw Announced

The ARU have released their draw for the 2017 National Rugby Championship and, as is seemingly traditional, there is plenty to take from it.

Firstly there are nine teams involved including both the Melbourne Rising and the Perth Spirit, who are affiliated to their respective Super Rugby teams (Rebels and Force) both of whom are fighting for survival in next year’s Super Rugby competition.

Fiji is the much heralded new team in the comp and become the first international team in the tournament, through the assistance of World Rugby.  The Fijians will travel for two games, then host for two games, on an alternate schedule. Their home games will be split between Churchill Park, Lautoka, ANZ Stadium, Suva and Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka. Fiji play Brisbane City at Ballymore to kick off their tournament on the 2nd of September.

The season starts on the weekend of 2 September, a week after the Shute Shield Grand Final.

Reigning champions, the Perth Spirit, open their campaign with a clash of the above mentioned teams, as the Rising travel to Perth to start their season.

The NRC in 2017 will feature even more grassroots rugby connection as sides from across the country take their games to club rugby venues.

In Round 3, Brisbane City will take on the Canberra Vikings at the UQ Rugby Club on the same weekend that UQ host the third round of the AON National Women’s 7s Series.  In Round 7 they host the Rising at the newly renovated Wests Rugby Union Club in Toowong.

The Andy Purcell Cup (between Brisbane City and Queensland Country) will be played for in Round 2 at the Noosa Dolphins Rugby Union Club. QLD Country will play a couple of games at their traditional ‘home game’ at Bond University, with the Round 5 clash with the Rising, being held in conjunction with Round 4 of the Women’s 7s series.   Queensland Country will then take their final match of the regular season to Ipswich where they will host the Spirit at QLD Group Stadium.

The Greater Sydney Rams are now basing themselves at TG Milner Oval and the Sydney Rays will play out of Pittwater Park, except for their Round 2 clash with the Rams which will be played at Macquarie Uni. Once again, this will link into the Women’s 7s Series which will be played at the same venue that weekend.

Last year’s Grand Finalists, the NSW Country Eagles, will travel across the state with games in Armidale (Rnd 4 v the Vikings); Goulburn (Rnd 5 v the Rays which will be played on the Labour Day Monday); Tamworth (Rnd 7 v the Spirit) and Orange (Rnd 9 v Brisbane).

FOX SPORTS will broadcast two games each round on television (Saturday and Sunday at 3pm AEST) with the two remaining games available to stream LIVE via foxsports.com.au and the FOX SPORTS App. Fans will be able to watch every NRC match LIVE and ad-break free during play for the second season in succession.

2017 NRC fixture

(all times local)

ROUND 1

Saturday September 2

Canberra Vikings vs QLD Country –  Viking Park, Canberra – 1.00pm

Brisbane City vs Fiji – Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane –  3.00pm

Sunday September 3

Greater Sydney Rams vs NSW Country Eagles – TG Millner Oval, Sydney – 3.00pm

Perth Spirit vs Melbourne Rising  McGillivray Oval, Perth – 3.00pm

Bye – Sydney Rays

ROUND 2

Saturday September 9

QLD Country vs Brisbane City – Noosa Dolphins RU Club, Noosa – 1.00pm

Melbourne Rising v Fiji   Harlequin Oval, Melbourne – 3:00pm

Sunday September 10

Canberra Vikings vs Perth Spirit   Viking Park, Canberra – 1.00pm

Sydney Rays vs Greater Sydney Rams – Macquarie Uni, Sydney 3.00pm

Bye – NSW Country Eagles

ROUND 3

Saturday September 16

Sydney Rays vs Melbourne Rising – Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney – 1.00pm

Fiji vs NSW Country Eagles – Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka – 5.00pm

Sunday September 17

Brisbane City vs Canberra Vikings – UQ Rugby Club, Brisbane  1.00pm

Perth Spirit vs Greater Sydney Rams – McGillivray Oval, Perth – 1.00pm

Bye – QLD Country

ROUND 4

Saturday September 23

NSW Country Eagles vs Canberra Vikings – Bellevue Oval, Armidale – 1.00pm

Fiji vs Perth Spirit- ANZ Stadium, Suva – 5.00pm

Sunday September 24

Sydney Rays vs QLD Country- Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney – 1.00pm

Melbourne Rising vs Greater Sydney Rams – Harlequin Oval, Melbourne – 3.00pm

BYE –  Brisbane City                  

ROUND 5

Friday September 29

Canberra Vikings vs Fiji  – Viking Park, Canberra – 7.30pm

Saturday September 30

QLD Country vs Melbourne Rising –  Bond University, Gold Coast – 3.00pm

Sunday October 1

Perth Spirit vs Brisbane City – McGillivray Oval, Perth – 2.00pm

Monday October 2        

NSW Country Eagles vs Sydney Rays – Simon Poidevin Oval, Goulburn – 3.00pm

Bye – Greater Sydney Rams

ROUND 6 –  PACIFIKA  ROUND

Saturday October 7

QLD Country vs NSW Country Eagles – Bond University, Gold Coast- 12.00pm

Greater Sydney Rams vs Fiji – TG Millner Oval, Sydney- 3.00pm

Sunday October 8

Melbourne Rising vs Canberra Vikings – Frankston Park, Frankston – 1.00pm

Sydney Rays vs Brisbane City – Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney – 3.00pm

Bye – Perth Spirit

ROUND 7

Saturday October 14

Greater Sydney Rams vs QLD Country – TG Millner Oval, Sydney – 1.00pm

NSW Country Eagles vs Perth Spirit- Scully Park, Tamworth – 3.00pm

Sunday October 15

Brisbane City vs Melbourne Rising – Wests Bulldogs RU Club, Brisbane  – 12.00pm

Canberra Vikings vs Sydney Rays Viking Park, Canberra – 3.00pm

Bye – Fiji

ROUND 8

Saturday October 21

Brisbane City vs Greater Sydney Rams – Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane – 2.00pm

Fiji vs QLD Country –  Churchill Park, Lautoka – 7.00pm

Perth Spirit vs Sydney Rays –  McGillivray Oval, Perth – 2.00pm

Sunday October 22

Melbourne Rising vs NSW Country Eagles –  Harlequin Oval, Melbourne – 1.00pm

Bye – Canberra Vikings

ROUND 9

Saturday October 28

NSW Country Eagles vs Brisbane City – Wade Park, Orange – 1.00pm

Fiji vs Sydney Rays – ANZ Stadium, Suva  – 4.00pm

Sunday October 29

QLD Country vs Perth Spirit- Qld Group Stadium, Ipswich –  12.00pm

Greater Sydney Rams vs Canberra Vikings – TG Millner Oval, Sydney – 3.00pm

Bye – Melbourne Rising

SEMI-FINALS

Saturday November 4

1st Place vs 4th Place –  1st-place Venue – 3.00pm

Sunday November 5

2nd Place vs 3rd Place – 2nd-place Venue – 3.00pm

GRAND FINAL

Saturday November 11

Winner Semi-Final 1 vs Winner Semi-final 2 – Venue TBC – 7:30pm

 

Check out team by team draws here: