New Head Coach Vern Cotter will steer the Queensland Reds for the first time when the Swyftx Super Rugby AUS season kicks off at Ballymore Stadium on September 12.
Cotter and his assistant coaches Zane Hilton, Peter Hewat and Craig McGrath will be at the helm for the Saturday afternoon opener against the Western Force.
The family-friendly 1:30pm match will be followed by the clash against the NSW Waratahs which will be the highlight of the Santos Festival of Rugby in Roma on Saturday, September 19.
A Round Three clash will be played against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Sunday, September 27.
The top two sides in the four-team series will contest the Super Rugby AUS grand final on Saturday, October 3 at the home ground of the No.1 seeded club.
Sam Cordingley, the Reds General Manager, High Performance, said Super Rugby AUS is an important competition for all involved.
“The correlation between the volume of high-level fixtures and the success of the world’s leading rugby nations is clear," Cordingley said.
"It’s a credit to Rugby Australia for continuing to invest in Super Rugby AUS as an important part of closing that gap.
"The competition strengthens squad cohesion while creating valuable development opportunities for our coaches, staff, pathway players and match officials."
The Super Rugby AUS season will spread rugby to six centres with matches scheduled for Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Roma and Bungendore.
All games of Super Rugby AUS will be broadcast live on the rugby.com.au YouTube channel.
The draw for the Super Rugby Under-16s competition has also been confirmed.
Super Rugby U16 has adopted a new model for 2026 which will see the Queensland Reds, Western Force and Victoria squads go into camp while playing back-to-back fixtures in Canberra.
The Reds U16s will be guided by Head Coach Scott Gale, the former Reds halfback, with assistants Welmar Du Plessis and Con Foley.
There will be no finals fixtures in Super Rugby U16 with the champion to be determined by the final competition ladder.
All times local
Round 1
Queensland Reds v Western Force - 1.30pm Saturday 12 September - Ballymore Stadium
ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs - 2pm Sunday 13 September - Bungendore Sports Hub, Bungendore
Round 2
Queensland Reds v NSW Waratahs - 5.45pm Saturday 19 September - Fox Gallas Park, Roma
Western Force v ACT Brumbies - 1.30pm Sunday 20 September - North Coast Rugby Club, Perth
Round 3
NSW Waratahs v Western Force - 1pm Sunday 27 September - Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney
ACT Brumbies v Queensland Reds - 2pm Sunday 27 September - Viking Park, Canberra
Grand Final
1 v 2 - Saturday 3 October - TBC
All times local
Victoria v ACT Brumbies - 12.30pm Saturday 19 September - TBC Melbourne
ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs - 1pm Saturday 26 September - Viking Park, Canberra
Western Force v Queensland Reds - 2.45pm Saturday 26 September - Viking Park, Canberra
Victoria v Queensland Reds - 1pm Tuesday 29 September - Viking Park, Canberra
NSW Waratahs v Western Force - 3pm Tuesday 29 September - TBC Sydney
Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies - 12pm Saturday 3 October - Ballymore Stadium
Western Force v Victoria - 3pm Saturday 3 October - Viking Park, Canberra
Western Force v Brumbies - 11.30am Tuesday 6 October - Viking Park, Canberra
NSW Waratahs v Victoria - 2pm Tuesday 6 October - TBC Sydney
Queensland Reds v NSW Waratahs - 1.30pm Saturday 10 October - Ballymore Stadium
