New Zealand Rugby on Thursday refused to rule out boycotting the end of this year's Rugby Championship in Australia after organisers unveiled a schedule that would leave the All Blacks stranded in quarantine at Christmas.
The row overshadowed plans for a tournament that host Australia described as a "mini-World Cup" over six weeks, with double-header matches each weekend featuring the Wallabies, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.
"Six unmissable back-to-back double-headers featuring four of the very best Test nations in world rugby - all in our backyard - this really is a once-in-a-lifetime event," Rugby Australia interim chief executive Rob Clarke said.
Southern hemisphere governing body SANZAAR is staging the tournament in one country for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the opening round in the Queensland state capital Brisbane on 7 November.
But it was the final round - which has the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in Sydney on 12 December - that needled NZR.
The New Zealand government is enforcing a strict two-week coronavirus quarantine period for all international arrivals, meaning that even if the players flew home straight after the match they would face being isolated from their families at Christmas.
"We haven't agreed to this schedule and are disappointed at the announcement," NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said.
He said planning prior to this week focused on the All Blacks' matches finishing on 5 December, giving ample time for pre-Christmas quarantine in New Zealand.
Robinson said he understood commercial considerations were behind the late schedule change, but argued "the wellbeing of our people is an incredibly important factor in this also".
Asked if the All Blacks could boycott the final round, Robinson replied: "It's far too early to land on exactly what the solutions or outcomes are at the moment. We're going to take a few days to keep working with all the key players."
'Too much at stake'
New Zealand was initially set to host the tournament but it was switched earlier this month because Australia offered more flexible quarantine rules.
Robinson said that under the original arrangements, NZR had agreed to an Australian request that the Wallabies finish in time to be home with their families at Christmas.
Rugby Australia said it had been willing to look at compressing the Championship's six rounds into a five-week period but the other SANZAAR partners refused.
"South Africa and Argentina said 'No' because of the increased risk of injury, particularly given they would not have played domestic tournaments like Australia and New Zealand had," the official rugby.com.au website said.
SANZAAR chief executive Andy Marinos said asking players to compete in six Tests over five weeks risked "career-ending injuries".
He acknowledged the December 12 option was an issue for New Zealand but said "we've exhausted every other option".
Marinos said SANZAAR would continue to do what it could to resolve the issue but the only solution he could see was the New Zealand government agreeing to amend its rules so the players could complete begin quarantine in Australia, before the match.
Asked if he thought the dispute would result in a curtailed Rugby Championship, he replied: "I don't think so, there's too much at stake."
The Rugby Championship 2020 fixtures:
Round One - Saturday, 7 November 2020
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Argentina v South Africa
Australia v New Zealand
Round Two - Saturday, 14 November
Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v Argentina
South Africa v Australia
Round Three - Saturday, 21 November
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
New Zealand v South Africa
Australia v Argentina
Round Four - Saturday, 28 November
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Argentina v Australia
South Africa v New Zealand
Round Five - Saturday, 5 December
Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
Argentina v New Zealand
Australia v South Africa
Round Six – Saturday, 12 December
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
South Africa v Argentina
Australia v New Zealand