ACT Brumbies hope for Super Rugby Sundays in Canberra as fixture looms for 2022

Clubs hope to unveil the Super Rugby Pacific fixture this week with the Brumbies requesting more weekend afternoon matches to entice families back to games.

Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson wants multiple Sunday afternoon games - ideally in a 2pm timeslot - and a Saturday afternoon game, with the fate of the fixture in the hands of broadcast partners.

The Canterbury Crusaders, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, Auckland Blues, Waikato Chiefs, Western Force and Wellington Hurricanes are likely to play the Brumbies in Canberra next season, as revealed by The Canberra Times.

The Brumbies' seven home fixtures would thus include reigning champions from each of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, AU and Aotearoa competitions, as well as rivals NSW.

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"We've got some good games at home this year so it'll be good to get them locked away," Thomson said.

"Hopefully we'll get a few afternoon games, a couple of Sundays and a Saturday hopefully and just change it up for people to come and watch which will be good."

Afternoon matches at home have been few and far between for the Brumbies in recent years.

The last of its kind came against the Waratahs in March 2020 in front of 8167 fans. But even that figure might have been lowered by extenuating circumstances. It was the final Super Rugby game before the competition was shut down as COVID-19 left society reeling.

But Thomson hopes more family-friendly timeslots would convince fans to dust off their Brumbies caps and arrive at Canberra Stadium in droves.

"It's a bit hard to tell because with the past two years we haven't really got much to gauge those sort of things," Thomson said.

"Prior to COVID, even then it was probably hard to get a gauge on it because they were at the wrong time of the year or the wrong time of the day on a Sunday.

"If you get a 2pm Sunday game, that's really a more family-friendly time. A lot of it depends on what the broadcast time is for that game. A 4pm game or 4.30pm is probably not as appealing as a 2pm game.

"Hopefully we can get some of those mid-afternoon games, especially when the colder weather comes around, to entice more families out to the games.

"Even a 4pm Sunday, sometimes that can be bitterly cold out there at [Canberra] Stadium. A 2pm game, the sun is still out and it's still quite a nice time for people to come out with their families.

"It's not in our hands at the moment, we've put our requests in and we'll just have to see what our broadcasters decide on."

Canberra Stadium will be allowed to open at full capacity for the Brumbies' season opener in February, after ACT Health officials cleared the way for venues to operate fixed and tiered seating at 100 per cent capacity.

The Brumbies have already frozen prices on seats closest to the action despite the financial impact of the pandemic in a call to arms for support. The price per game for silver category seating at Brumbies home games has been slashed in a bid to create a better atmosphere within the stadium.

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