After the great success of the TV and digital broadcast of the first two 2019 Showcase matches, Global Rapid Rugby is delighted to announce that a further seven games will be available to rugby, sports and entertainment fans around the world.
Free to air and subscription television along with online and on-demand products will deliver our innovative and exciting broadcast coverage of an equally bold and inventive brand of elite level sport from venues in Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji, Auckland and Brisbane, plus a further two games in Perth.
- – In Australia, national broadcaster SBS will offer seven more matches live and free right around the country on the Viceland Channel, the SBS On Demand app and online via sbs.com.au. Plus, Australia’s one-stop TV sporting shop, Fox Sports, will broadcast matches live and offer anytime viewing on the popular new Kayo streaming service.
- – In Asia and the Pacific, the seven games will be broadcast live through Fox Sports Asia and Star Sports and its multitude of local channels that include coverage into China, Hong Kong, Indonesia Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa.
- – Fiji TV will broadcast live games featuring Fijian Latui
- – Sky NZ will carry the seven matches live into New Zealand
- – Live online coverage is available in all other regions via rapidrugby.com
Match highlights will be available in all locations on Rapid Rugby’s social media channels and via rapidrugby.com
To launch the 2019 Global Rapid Rugby Showcase Australia’s Western Force played home games in Perth against the World XV and the South China Tigers. As an example of the brand’s appeal, SBS recorded an average viewing audience of 64,000.
SBS Director of Sport, Ken Shipp said: “Global Rapid Rugby is set to be an exciting and entertaining series. We are looking forward to introducing the unique showcase series to a national audience, free to air, on SBS VICELAND and via our live streaming platform SBS OnDemand.”
The next match for broadcast is the first played in Asia, between the South China Tigers and Asia Pacific Dragons, from Hong Kong.
2019 Global Rapid Rugby Showcase Series – Broadcast Schedule
Sun, 21 Apr 19 – 3:10pm – South China Tigers Asia Pacific Dragons Hong Kong
Sun, 28 Apr 19 – 3:10pm – Asia Pacific Dragons South China Tigers Singapore
Sat, 18 May 19 – 3:10pm – Fijian Latui Kagifa Samoa Fiji
Fri, 31 May 19 – 7:45pm- Western Force Kagifa Samoa Perth, WA
Fri, 7 Jun 19 – 5:40pm – Kagifa Samoa Fijian Latui New Zealand
Sat, 15 Jun 19 – 3:40pm – Kagifa Samoa Western Force Brisbane, Qld
Fri, 21 Jun 19 – 7:40pm – Western Force Fijian Latui Perth, WA
*All times are local to playing destination
Global Rapid Rugby is designed to provide a faster, more free scoring and entertaining style of play than traditional rugby and includes 70-minute matches, 9 point Power Tries, rolling substitutions, incentives for high Scoring and risk-taking play, restrictions around defensive kicking and an overall increase in ball-in-play time.
In 2019, Rapid Rugby features the South China Tigers, Asia Pacific Dragons, Fijian Latui, Kagifa Samoa and Western Force playing in a 14 game Showcase Series in Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji, Auckland, Brisbane and Perth.
The inaugural Global Rapid Rugby home-and-away season, featuring eight teams throughout the Asia Pacific, will be played in 2020.
