World Rugby has said it will decide upon the Test calendar for the remainder of 2020, including the four postponed games in the Six Nations, following a vote of the World Rugby Council on June 30th. Such clarity will not be a moment too soon for the Unions concerned.

This follows another round of discussions within the World Rugby Professional Game Forum on Monday containing representatives of all the leading Unions, Federations, the various professional club and provincial leagues, and the International Rugby Players Association.

Ireland’s postponed game at home to Italy could be played on October 3rd or 24th, while the concluding round of the tournament, which was to have taken place on March 14th and included Ireland’s finale against France in Paris, has been provisionally rescheduled for October 31st.

Although this Forum is not a decision-making body, a statement by World Rugby intimated there is still disagreement as to when internationals can be accommodated in October, a month normally reserved for the domestic professional leagues and the 2019-20 European competitions, which are also incomplete and require three weekends to run off.

“In the absence of full alignment, further information sharing and discussion will be undertaken with all parties regarding the viability of proposed adjustments to the 2020 international release weekends stipulated in Regulation 9 that will enable postponed and other international matches to be played in an adjusted window from October, while enabling the completion of existing club competitions.”

Rugby Australia admitted on Monday that July’s Tests against Ireland were looking “highly unlikely” while expressing confidence that all four of the country’s Super Rugby teams could survive the coronavirus shutdown.

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The Wallabies are due to face the Irish in Brisbane on 4 July and then at Sydney a week later, before they take on Fiji in Townsville later in the month.

But all three games are in serious doubt with Australia’s borders currently closed to everyone but citizens and permanent residents to combat the spread of Covid-19.

“The July Test matches are looking less and less likely as the days go by,” said Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle.

“But that will ultimately be a decision made in consultation with World Rugby.

“There will be conversations that will happen from a World Rugby point of view so we can think about if July doesn’t go ahead, which obviously seems highly unlikely now, whether there is football available at the back end of this year.”

If new slots in the calendar could be found later in the year, she suggested the Wallabies could travel to Ireland instead to play the games.

Rugby has ground to a halt in Australia, and elsewhere around the world, with the southern hemisphere Super Rugby competition suspended.

Plans for a domestic Australian tournament to fill the void have also been shelved due to the pandemic, depriving clubs of much-needed ticket sales and broadcast money.

Brisbane and Melbourne will host Australia’s Bledisloe matches in 2020 with Rugby Australia confirming two Queensland games for next season.

Australia will host two of the three Bledisloes in 2020 and with Sydney out of play with ANZ Stadium’s refurbishment, both will be out of NSW.

The Wallabies will play a Test at the SCG for the first time in more than 30 years when they face Ireland in 2020.

Rugby Australia confirmed on Friday morning that Australia would host the Irish in their second Test of the 2020 season in Sydney, their first at the SCG since 1986.

With Allianz Stadium being demolished and ANZ Stadium refurbished, Rugby Australia has had to look for alternative Test venues in Sydney.

The Wallabies played Samoa at the new Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta last year but have opted to return to the east for next year’s second Test.

The SCG has played host to a number of Waratahs matches in recent seasons with Allianz Stadium’s demolition but the famous venue has not been popular with fans, who often find themselves far from the action

Australia and Ireland last played at the SCG in 1979 and Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said the venue would be a nostalgic one for fans.

“The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the most iconic venues in Australian sport and has hosted some of the most famous Rugby Test matches ever played in this country,” she said.

“Returning there in 2020 for the second Test against Ireland Rugby will be a nostalgic experience for those who watched Test matches there through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and a chance to be part of history for the younger generation watching a Test at the SCG for the first time.

As July tours of the southern hemisphere are about to be postponed or even abandoned, the next threat to Irish rugby’s revenue stream is cancellation of matches in the November series.

South Africa, Japan and Australia are due to play at the Aviva stadium before year’s end. However, it’s increasingly apparent that rugby unions around the world will – if at all possible – focus on completing local competitions over touring in 2020.

Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive Raelene Castle said Monday that two home Tests against Ireland in July were “highly unlikely” to happen, while November fixtures in Europe could be sacrificed in order to complete Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship.

The Wallabies are scheduled to play New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, twice each, in August and September. Completing at least some of these games is the priority over expensive and potentially infectious trips to Dublin, Paris and London.