New Zealand’s virus isolation for visitors puts Super Rugby in chaos
Super Rugby has been thrown into chaos by NZ’s virus decision to have visitors self-isolate.
Super Rugby will be put on hold after this weekend’s matches in the wake of New Zealand announcing that travellers entering the country must self-isolate for 14 days due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak.
SANZAAR, who run the competition, said on Saturday it “has no option but to suspend the 2020 Super Rugby tournament” for the foreseeable future after the ACT Brumbies host the NSW Waratahs on Sunday.
SANZAAR said in a statement that following the decree from the NZ government, it would not be feasible to carry on with the competition, with five teams from the country participating.
“The safety and welfare of the public, our players and other stakeholders is paramount and as previously stated we were always going to abide by government and health authority instructions on the issue of COVID-19 containment,” chief executive Andy Marinos said.
“We are extremely disappointed for the players, our fans, broadcasters and partners but given the complexity of our competition structure, and the multiple geographies that we cover, we have no other option but to align with such directives.
“We also believe it is time for all those players currently overseas to return home and to be with their families.”
The directive from NZ effectively left the competition hamstrung after only seven completed rounds following this weekend.
“Our priority is, therefore, to ensure our players are within their home territories from the end of this weekend,” Marinos said.
“SANZAAR will also remain engaged with its stakeholders and will continue to explore avenues to see if we can keep the rugby product alive within our core markets, with the possibility to be in a position to resume the tournament if at all possible in future weeks.”
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday announced the draconian border control rules as part of the country’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, as New Zealand attempts to limit the spread of the coronavirus infection. The policy will be reviewed in 16 days.
It was strongly rumoured that SANZAAR would suspend the competition until that review was completed, although there were no indications that the next fortnight would deliver any significant changes.
Given that NZ has five teams, the ultimate impact of the self-isolation edict could be that the competition will have to be halted or radically revamped on the run. The ACT Brumbies will be the first foreign team affected. They are scheduled to play the Blues in Auckland next Saturday but it now seems impossible that they can honour that commitment.
SANZAAR issued a statement earlier on Saturday acknowledging the NZ government move. “SANZAAR is now reviewing the full impact on the Super Rugby tournament,’’ it said.
“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,” the statement read.
“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.”
Increasingly, the southern hemisphere is being hemmed in by the coronavirus. Australia has already announced that all Super Rugby – and women’s Super W fixtures – beyond this weekend will have to be played at closed stadiums. It is possible that any matches scheduled for NZ could be switched to Australia but, given that, there would be no gate-takings.
That is going to have a devastating effect on the finances of all sides and as the NZ self-isolation edict begins to bite, it is difficult to see how the competition can continue in its present form.
It is possible that unplayed Australian local derby matches could be brought forward in the hope that any affected matches in NZ could be rescheduled later in the season but, frankly, that seems unlikely. It is a nightmare under normal circumstances organising a draw for 15 teams spread over five countries, let alone making changes on the hop.
As it is, the Sunwolves’ final season in Super Rugby has been thrown into turmoil by the coronavirus. The Japanese side played their last home match in Tokyo on February 15 and since then have been constantly on the road.
They played their scheduled Osaka match against the Brumbies in Wollongong a week ago and today may have played their final Super Rugby match at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium against the defending champions, the Crusaders.
If it was the end, the Sunwolves played as they always do – which is to say bravely. But even a reduced-strength Crusaders side, one reduced to 13 men towards the end of the second half, proved way too strong, scoring seven tries to two in a 49-14 bonus point victory.
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