Super Rugby season on verge of being postponed after NZ Government coronavirus measures

The New Zealand Government’s tough coronavirus measures mean the Super Rugby season is no chance of continuing as usual.

Australian Super Rugby teams won’t be playing in New Zealand any time soon. Picture: Getty Images

Super Rugby is on the brink of an unprecedented postponement because New Zealand’s new border restrictions to limit coronavirus will shut out Australian teams from next week.

The first ramifications reflect that it is impossible to continue the competition in the short-term.

The ACT Brumbies are unable to fly to Auckland to face the Blues next Saturday because self-isolating on arrival for 14 days renders it impossible to play.

At its most extreme, the remaining 11 rounds of the competition could be cancelled.

More creative thinkers may imagine a postponement of rounds before a drastically abridged tournament is completed with a block of matches in May if virus concerns lessen.

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Australian Super Rugby teams won’t be playing in New Zealand any time soon. Picture: Getty Images

Another idea would be to redraft a draw with purely domestic matches in empty stadiums with the four Australian sides playing amongst themselves, the five Kiwi sides doing the same and derbies among the four South African sides.

Where that leaves Japan’s Sunwolves and Argentina’s Jaguares makes that a tricky option.

In the current health crisis, a Super Rugby tournament involving teams from five nations and heavy international travel schedules was always the most vulnerable of the top football competitions involving Australian sides.

Kiwi teams playing abroad must try to return home before Sunday night’s midnight cut-off (NZ time) or they will have to undertake the self-isolation code as well.

The Crusaders will be back in Christchurch just in time because they had organised the quickest exit from Brisbane after today’s game against Japan’s Sunwolves at Suncorp Stadium.

The Australia-New Zealand one-day cricket series has been abandoned with two matches still to play so the Kiwis can fly home.

The Crusaders’ George Bridge makes a break against the Reds in Christchurch. Picture: Getty Images

Tournament bosses at SANZAAR are in urgent discussions to work out the next step.

“Following the recent New Zealand Government directive that all travellers returning to New Zealand will have to self-isolate on their arrival for 14 days – including New Zealand residents – SANZAAR is now reviewing the full impact on the Super Rugby tournament,” a SANZAAR statement read.

“The tournament is seven rounds into its 18-round regular season.

“SANZAAR will not be making any official comment on the tournament and the future staging of the remaining matches at this point in time.

“SANZAAR will issue a statement on the full impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its impact on Super Rugby 2020 once the Executive Committee has determined an appropriate course of action and all stakeholders have been informed.”

The NZ government has added Australia to the list of countries from which arrivals have to undertake a 14-day self-isolation period but that would also affect South African sides flying to NZ from Australian cities while on tour.

Under the current NZ travel restrictions, the Queensland Reds could not play the Blues in Auckland on May 9 while the Highlanders (April 26) and Hurricanes (May 22) would not make their visits to Suncorp Stadium.

While other sports can talk of rescheduling, there is little wriggle room to push back the season more than a week with Super Rugby because the finals finish in June just before the international season cranks up with the Wallabies facing Ireland at Suncorp Stadium on July 4.