The 2017 Shute Shield draw has been officially released by the Sydney Rugby Union board with all grade and colts grand finals set to be played on the same weekend as the opening round of the National Rugby Championship in late August. The 2017 season will begin on the 1st of April and will include a bye weekend on the 17th of June, when the Wallabies face Scotland in a Saturday afternoon Test match at Moore Park. Newly appointed Sydney Rugby Union president David Begg told Rugby News that the clash between the Shute Shield decider and the opening round of the NRC was unavoidable. “It was the universal view of the clubs that we should attempt to calibrate the season back to more traditional timing,” Begg said. “By starting on April 1 and including a bye weekend, we believe that the draw works well as a template for the future. “The NRC, with nine teams, is more than able to work its season around this draw.” The bye weekend was originally scheduled on the June long weeke