Super Rugby competition in doubt as coronavirus continues to spread
Cancelling the rest of the Super Rugby season is a possibility as the world grapples to deal with the spread of coronavirus.
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Update: Cancellation of Super Rugby due to coronavirus remains a genuine possibility in the next fortnight as the rapidly changing advice from health officials creates havoc for sporting administrators.
All Super matches will proceed as scheduled this weekend – with the Jaguares vs Highlanders match in Buenos Aires to be played in an empty stadium – but the dramatic spread of the virus all over the globe leaves the competition in doubt.
The vast amount of travel required – the NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels are due to tour South Africa in coming weeks – makes players and support staff particularly prone.
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SANZAAR has no plans to cancel travel at this time, but given the startling developments around the world, including suspension of major competitions in Europe and the Unites States, and increasing death tolls here and abroad, it would seem only a matter of time.
Rugby Australia officials will talk with SANZAAR counterparts on Monday to discuss the latest health advice to take further steps.
Given the stacked rugby calendar, there will be no time to replay any cancelled games, and each team would receive two points each.
The prospect of multiple cancelled games and trips would hurt the integrity of the tournament, so officials will be mulling the prospect of a cancelled season and its ramifications already.
RA chief executive Raelene Castle returned from World Rugby meetings in London on Thursday to confront the unfolding crisis, and said on Friday that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s advice that mass gatherings would only be banned from Monday gave them comfort to continue playing games this weekend.
“This is a position that no one in our game wanted to be in, but we have made this decision in line with the government response to this ongoing global health issue and in the best interests of our players, members and fans,” Castle said.
“The Prime Minister made it clear in his address to the media this afternoon that the government’s advice is a staged response to this issue and that by Monday the next stage of their response is to advise against non-essential large gatherings.
“We are confident from this advice that there is no significant or imminent health risk to our athletes or fans for the weekend’s matches. At all times, any decision we make is with the health and welfare of those people front of mind.
“As this situation is evolving constantly, we will continue to review our position on a daily basis.”
The Daily Telegraph has learned that a player from NSW’s Super W women’s competition was in isolation this week and prevented from attending training, but tests for coronavirus came back negative on Thursday night.
And members of Australia’s under-20s squad were prevented from training in the Brumbies’ Canberra gym on Thursday after some players showed symptoms of head cold.
Should Super Rugby be cancelled, it would have a devastating impact on SANZAAR’s finances.
Most clubs are struggling to break even and need gate-takings from home games to sustain them.
It is yet unknown what the response of broadcasters will be to cancelled matches, which would leave gaping holes of air-time to fill with replayed games from previous seasons.
It’s understood contingency plans are being discussed by Australia’s Fox Sports for the potential cancellation of games across rugby, league and Aussie rules.
NSW is bracing for more than one million residents to contract coronavirus over the coming months.
Sporting officials have already been discussing the prospect of playing games in empty stadiums, which would be viable until a player contracts coronavirus, as happened to two American basketballers, leading to the NBA’s cancellation.
WARATAH DATING PHIL KEARNS’ DAUGHTER
Sporting power couples are used to missing each other’s biggest moments and NSW’s teenage sweethearts Angus Bell and Tilly Kearns are no different.
With Bell emerging as a rising star for the Waratahs and Kearns - the daughter of Wallaby legend Phil - making waves in women’s water polo, the two 19 year olds are so busy with their own sports that they often miss seeing each other in action.
So when the Australian women’s team tour of Italy was cancelled because of coronavirus, the consolation for Kearns was that she could watch Bell live on television but an ill-timed dash to grab a snack saw her miss out on seeing him score his first Super Rugby try.
“I couldn’t believe it. We were in the dining hall at the AIS watching it and I just stepped away for a minute to get my food and he scored,” Kearns told Rugby Confidential.
“I could hear the whole team screaming when he crossed and I saw the replay but I missed it live.”
That’s one of the occupational hazards for elite sports couples but the NSW sweetheart teens have had to get used to since they first started dating in high school.
They met when Bell was playing for Newington - Phil Kearns’ old school - alongside one of Tilly’s brothers and hit off straight away.
Coming from a rugby family, Tilly knew all about the game but Bell was a novice when it came to water polo and a touch nervous when she met Tilly’s dad.
“He didn’t even know what water polo was two and a half years ago but he loves it now because it’s like rugby in water,” she said.
“But when he talks to my Dad it’s only ever about rugby.”
RUGBY AUSTRALIA COP MORE CRITICISM
Rugby Australia has come in for some criticism for not adding any new women to the board after the appointment of three new members - Daniel Herbert, Peter Wiggs and Brett Godfrey - as part of the overdue shake up of directors.
But the most glaring omission is the often talked about but continued absence of any Pacific Islander representative, which is all the more astonishing after the divisive fallout from Israel Folau’s contract termination.
Players of Pacific Islanders’ heritage account for more than 40 per cent of Australia’s professional players and many were privately unhappy at the way the Folau case unfolded.
Explosive court documents have since revealed that leading Christian Wallabies in the team felt muzzled during the saga, leading to division in the locker room before the World Cup, but still no place on the board.
Originally published as Super Rugby competition in doubt as coronavirus continues to spread
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