With the remainder of 2020 likely to be needed to conclude unfinished tournaments, the Rugby Calendar for 2021 requires a bit of work. It’s a tricky prospect but I’ve had a stab at it. When you break down how many rounds need to be played for each tournament there is not a lot of wiggle room. Mindful of player welfare, I have attempted to include breaks where possible but as not every team will qualify for latter stages of tournaments such as the English Premiership and Pro 14 some players will more opportunity for breaks than others. Here is a brief summary followed by the full list:
- Six Nations tournament remains in it’s traditional slot to allow for cross border competition to aid British and Irish Lions selection.
- European Tournaments to run in the autumn AFTER the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa. This allows for reasonable squad preparation time before the tour.
- English Premiership has to run on some weekends of Six Nations fixtures.
- Pro 14 changed to a Division 1 and 2 format, based on rankings for 2019/20, with a simplified Home and Away format, plus end of season playoffs.
KEY
| Friday Date | Saturday Date | Sunday Date |
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England |
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Wales/Ireland/Scotland/Italy |
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France |
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New Zealand/South Africa/Australia/Argentina |
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January 2021
| Friday 1st | Saturday 2nd | Sunday 3rd |
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English Premiership – Round 1 |
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Pro 14 – Round 1 |
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Top 14 – Round 1 |
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Winter Break |
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| Friday 8th | Saturday 9th | Sunday 10th |
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English Premiership – Round 2 |
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Pro 14 – Round 2 |
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Top 14 – Round 2 |
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Winter Break |
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| Friday 15th | Saturday 16th | Sunday 17th |
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English Premiership – Round 3 |
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Pro 14 – Round 3 |
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Top 14 – Round 3 |
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Winter Break |
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| Friday 22nd | Saturday 23rd | Sunday 24th |
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English Premiership – Round 4 |
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Pro 14 – Round 4 |
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Top 14 – Round 4 |
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Winter Break |
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| Friday 29th | Saturday 30th | Sunday 31st |
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English Premiership – Round 5 |
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Pro 14 – Round 5 |
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Top 14 – Round 5 |
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Winter Break |
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February 2021
| Friday 5th | Saturday 6th | Sunday 7th |
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Six Nations – Round 1 English Premiership – Round 6 |
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Super Rugby – Round 1 |
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| Friday 12th | Saturday 13th | Sunday 14th |
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Six Nations – Round 2 English Premiership – Round 7 |
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Super Rugby – Round 2 |
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| Friday 19th | Saturday 20th | Sunday 21st |
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English Premiership – Round 8 |
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Pro 14 – Round 6 |
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Top 14 – Round 6 |
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Super Rugby – Round 3 |
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| Friday 26th | Saturday 27th | Sunday 28th |
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Six Nations – Round 3 English Premiership – Round 9 |
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Super Rugby – Round 4 |
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March 2021
| Friday 5th | Saturday 6th | Sunday 7th |
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English Premiership – Round 10 |
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Pro 14 – Round 7 |
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Top 14 – Round 7 |
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Super Rugby – Round 5 |
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| Friday 12th | Saturday 13th | Sunday 14th |
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Six Nations – Round 4 English Premiership – Round 11 |
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Super Rugby – Round 6 |
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| Friday 19th | Saturday 20th | Sunday 21st |
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Six Nations – Round 5 |
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Super Rugby – Round 7 |
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| Friday 26th | Saturday 27th | Sunday 28th |
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English Premiership – Round 12 |
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Pro 14 – Round 8 |
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Top 14 – Round 8 |
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Super Rugby – Round 8 |
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April 2021
| Friday 2nd | Saturday 3rd | Sunday 4th |
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English Premiership – Round 13 |
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Pro 14 – Round 9 |
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Top 14 – Round 9 |
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Super Rugby – Round 9 |
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| Friday 9th | Saturday 10th | Sunday 11th |
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English Premiership – Round 14 |
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Pro 14 – Round 10 |
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Top 14 – Round 10 |
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Super Rugby – Round 10 |
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| Friday 16th | Saturday 17th | Sunday 18th |
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English Premiership – Round 15 |
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Pro 14 – Round 11 |
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Top 14 – Round 11 |
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Super Rugby – Round 11 |
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| Friday 23rd | Saturday 24th | Sunday 25th |
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English Premiership – Round 16 |
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Pro 14 – Round 12 |
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Top 14 – Round 12 |
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Super Rugby – Round 12 |
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May 2021
| Friday 30th | Saturday 1st | Sunday 2nd |
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English Premiership – Round 17 |
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Pro 14 – Round 13 |
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Top 14 – Round 13 |
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Super Rugby – Round 13 |
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| Friday 7th | Saturday 8th | Sunday 9th |
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English Premiership – Round 18 |
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Pro 14 – Round 14 |
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Top 14 – Round 14 |
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Super Rugby – Round 14 |
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| Friday 14th | Saturday 15th | Sunday 16th |
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English Premiership – Round 19 |
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Pro 14 – Round 15 |
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Top 14 – Round 15 |
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Super Rugby – Round 15 |
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| Friday 21st | Saturday 22nd | Sunday 23rd |
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English Premiership – Round 20 |
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Pro 14 – Round 16 |
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Top 14 – Round 16 |
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Super Rugby – Round 16 |
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| Friday 28th | Saturday 29th | Sunday 30th |
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English Premiership – Round 21 |
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Pro 14 – Semi Finals |
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Top 14 – Round 17 |
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Super Rugby – Round 17 |
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June 2021
| Friday 4th | Saturday 5th | Sunday 6th |
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English Premiership – Round 22 |
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Pro 14 – Final |
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Top 14 – Round 18 |
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Super Rugby – Round 18 |
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| Friday 11th | Saturday 12th | Sunday 13th |
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English Premiership – Semi Finals |
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British and Irish Lions Training Camp |
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Top 14 – Round 19 |
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Super Rugby – Playoff Round |
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| Friday 18th | Saturday 18th | Sunday 20th |
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English Premiership – Final |
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British and Irish Lions Training Camp |
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Top 14 – Round 25 |
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Super Rugby – Semi Finals |
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| Friday 25th | Saturday 26th | Sunday 27th |
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British and Irish Lions Training Camp |
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Top 14 – Round 26 |
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Super Rugby – Final |
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July 2021
| Friday 2nd | Saturday 3rd | Sunday 4th |
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DHL Stormers v British and Irish Lions |
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Top 14 – Quarter Finals |
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Break |
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| Friday 9th | Saturday 10th | Sunday 11th |
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Cell C Sharks v British and Irish Lions |
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Top 14 – Semi Finals |
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|
Break |
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| Friday 16th | Saturday 17th | Sunday 18th |
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Vodacom Bulls v British and Irish Lions |
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Top 14 – Final |
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Break |
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| Friday 23rd | Saturday 24th | Sunday 25th |
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Springboks v British and Irish Lions |
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France Summer Tour |
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International fixtures |
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| Friday 30th | Saturday 31st | Sunday 1st |
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Springboks v British and Irish Lions |
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|
France Summer Tour |
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International fixtures |
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August 2021
| Friday 6th | Saturday 7th | Sunday 8th |
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Springboks v British and Irish Lions |
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|
France Summer Tour |
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International fixtures |
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| Friday 13th | Saturday 14th | Sunday 15th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 1 |
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Rugby Championship – Round 1 |
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| Friday 20th | Saturday 21st | Sunday 22nd |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 2 |
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Rugby Championship – Round 2 |
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| Friday 27th | Saturday 28th | Sunday 29th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 3 |
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Rugby Championship – Break |
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September 2021
| Friday 3rd | Saturday 4th | Sunday 5th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Break |
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Rugby Championship – Round 3 |
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| Friday 10th | Saturday 11th | Sunday 12th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 4 |
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Rugby Championship – Round 4 |
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| Friday 17th | Saturday 18th | Sunday 19th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 5 |
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|
Rugby Championship – Round 5 |
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| Friday 24th | Saturday 25th | Sunday 26th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Round 6 |
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Rugby Championship – Round 4 |
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October 2021
| Friday 1st | Saturday 2nd | Sunday 3rd |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Break |
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|
Rugby Championship – Break |
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| Friday 8th | Saturday 9th | Sunday 10th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Quarter Finals |
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Rugby Championship – Round 5 |
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| Friday 15th | Saturday 16th | Sunday 17th |
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European Champions/Challenge Cup – Semi Finals |
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Rugby Championship – Round 6 |
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| Friday 22nd | Saturday 23rd | Sunday 24th |
|
European Champions/Challenge Cup – Finals |
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|
Break |
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November 2021
| Friday 5th | Saturday 6th | Sunday 7th |
|
Autumn Internationals |
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| Friday 12th | Saturday 13th | Sunday 14th |
|
Autumn Internationals |
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| Friday 19th | Saturday 20th | Sunday 21st |
|
Autumn Internationals |
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| Friday 26th | Saturday 27th | Sunday 28th |
|
Autumn Internationals |
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December 2021
| Friday 3rd | Saturday 4th | Sunday 5th |
|
Winter Break |
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| Friday 10th | Saturday 11th | Sunday 12th |
|
Winter Break |
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| Friday 17th | Saturday 18th | Sunday 19th |
|
Winter Break |
||
| Friday 24th | Saturday 25th | Sunday 26th |
|
Winter Break |
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Admittedly, it does look like a brutal year for the very top players of successful clubs. But this format would keep the dates already earmarked for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, allow the southern hemisphere season to be played out as usual and finish the season with some Autumn internationals for revenue.
Bedwyr Gullidge 
[…] couple of days ago I had a crack at the professional rugby season for 2021 which you can read here. Key to that idea was restructuring the Pro 14. A better tournament could be achieved by having […]
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[…] the discussion regarding the professional rugby calendar for 2021, which I posted a few days ago, and a revamp of the Pro 14 tournament that I also proposed, I thought I would attempt to […]
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