New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and its Super Rugby clubs are continuing to work through the impact of the NZ Government’s COVID-19 announcement on this weekend’s Super Rugby Aotearoa matches.
The Auckland region moved to COVID-19 Level 3 at midday today while the rest of the country is at COVID-19 Level 2, with the restrictions in place through until midnight Friday, 14 August.
Two matches are scheduled to be played this weekend in the final round of Super Rugby Aotearoa. The Highlanders are due to host the Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday evening and the Blues are scheduled to host the Crusaders at a sold-out Eden Park on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs have the bye this weekend.
As it stands currently, with Auckland at Level 3, the Blues-Crusaders game could not be played, while the Highlanders-Hurricanes game at Level 2 could be played with significant restrictions on crowd attendance.
NZR General Manager Professional Rugby & Performance Chris Lendrum said: “All our decision-making will be guided by the Government advice and so we will wait to see if there will be any changes to Alert Levels in Auckland and around the country for this weekend and beyond.
“We are all awaiting the next Government update with interest.
“In the meantime, we are preparing prudent contingency plans around playing the Highlanders-Hurricanes game with significant crowd restrictions. As mentioned, we will also await further Government updates and the potential impact on the Blues-Crusaders match.
“We know that there is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty and we thank everyone, particularly ticket holders, for their understanding and patience as we work through these complex and fast-moving issues,” Lendrum said.
Any further updates and changes to the matches will be communicated in due course.
