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 Southern Hemisphere club 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 New South Wales Waratahs on Sunday.
SANZAAR said in a statement that following the decree from the New Zealand government, it would not be feasible to carry on with the competition, with five teams from the country participating. Already the Otago Highlanders, who face the Jaguares in Argentina on Sunday in a game played in a stadium without fans, will not return home in time to avoid the self-isolation period. 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,” CEO 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 New Zealand left the competition, involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa, hamstrung after only seven completed rounds following this weekend. The event is based on 18 rounds of group matches, followed by knockout rounds and the final.
“Our priority is, therefore, to ensure our players are within their homes territories from the end of this weekend,” Marinos continued. 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.
The statement further said that the organisers hoped to devise a plan for the remaining fixtures that would be communicated in the coming days.
Vodacom Super Rugby suspended.
SANZAAR will suspend the 2020 Vodacom Super Rugby tournament for the foreseeable future, at the conclusion of this weekend’s matches it was announced this afternoon.— Springboks (@Springboks) March 14, 2020
The decision was made during a SANZAAR EXCO telecon in response to the announcement by the NZ Government that all travellers returning to the country would have to self-isolate for 14 days, including Vodacom Super Rugby players. NZ have five teams in the competition.
— Springboks (@Springboks) March 14, 2020
In other news – Here is why Khanya Mkangisa thinks Thando Thabethe will make a great mom
As you grow older, the number of wedding and baby shower invites increase at an alarming rate and it is usually for that reason that you find yourself SBWL’ing a little bundle of joy or the wedding bells to ring.
Thando Thabethe was one of the people who shared her desire to be a mommy on Twitter this week. This was just weeks after Cassper Nyovest said he also “sbwl sbwl” to have a bundle of joy to call his own. Can’t wait to be a mommy one day,” Thando “randomly” tweeted. Read more
Source: eNCA
