Rugby-Super Rugby Aotearoa
WELLINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Factbox on Super Rugby Aotearoa, which kicks off on June 13 and will be the first professional rugby union competition to be played since the coronavirus shutdown: SUPER RUGBY AOTEAROA * Established as a domestic-only competition after restrictions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus resulted in Super Rugby being postponed in mid-March after seven weeks of matches. * All five New Zealand Super Rugby teams will play each other home and away over 10 weeks of competition. * There are no playoffs or final. EXPERIMENTAL RULES * A draw at the end of the regulation 80-minutes will result in golden-point extra time. * The first team to score through a try, penalty or drop goal wins the game. * Players who receive a red card can be replaced by another player 20 minutes after they were sent off. FIXTURES (kickoff GMT) June 13 Otago Highlanders v Waikato Chiefs, Dunedin (0705) June 14 Auckland Blues v Wellington Hurricanes, Auckland (0335) June 20 Waikato Chiefs v Auckland Blues, Hamilton (0705) June 21 Wellington Hurricanes v Canterbury Crusaders, Wellington (0335) June 27 Auckland Blues v Otago Highlanders, Auckland (0705) June 28 Canterbury Crusaders v Waikato Chiefs, Christchurch (0335) July 4 Otago Highlanders v Canterbury Crusaders, Dunedin (0705) July 5 Waikato Chiefs v Wellington Hurricanes, Hamilton (0335) July 11 Canterbury Crusaders v Auckland Blues, Christchurch (0705) July 12 Wellington Hurricanes v Otago Highlanders, Wellington (0335) July 18 Wellington Hurricanes v Auckland Blues, Wellington (0705) July 19 Waikato Chiefs v Otago Highlanders, Hamilton (0335) July 25 Canterbury Crusaders v Wellington Hurricanes, Christchurch (0705) July 26 Auckland Blues v Waikato Chiefs, Auckland (0335) Aug 1 Waikato Chiefs v Canterbury Crusaders, Hamilton (0705) Aug 2 Otago Highlanders v Auckland Blues, Dunedin (0335) Aug 8 Wellington Hurricanes v Waikato Chiefs, Wellington (0705) Aug 9 Canterbury Crusaders v Otago Highlanders, Christchurch (0335) Aug 15 Otago Highlanders v Wellington Hurricanes, Dunedin (0705) Aug 16 Auckland Blues v Canterbury Crusaders, Auckland (0335) (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Toby Davis)
