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All Blacks Sevens suspend training to wait on coronavirus test results of Australian players
By Online Editors
The All Blacks Sevens have suspended team training as they wait on the results of two Australian team members being tested for coronavirus.
The team members, who have not been named and have not been specified as players or staff, have shown symptoms of the virus and self-isolated over the weekend.
New Zealand played Australia in the final of the Vancouver Sevens nine days ago on March 8, and have imposed precautionary measures as a result.
An All Blacks Sevens spokesperson told 1 News that the New Zealand players are yet to be tested, but further action could be required depending on the results of the Australian players.
The Kiwis will not return to training until the Australian test results are confirmed, which should be within the next 72 hours.
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Rugby Australia has taken similarly firm action, with the governing body closing its headquarters in Sydney for a two-day intensive clean.
All administrative staff have been advised to work from home, and members of both the Australian men's and women's sevens teams won't attend facilities at Moore Park until at least Wednesday.
After having already pushed back their Hong Kong and Singapore events by six months due to COVID-19, the World Sevens Series are yet to make any further announcements about postponements or cancellations for its 2019-20 campaign.
However, the women's series could be impacted as the next event scheduled for the season is set to be held in Langford, Canada on May 2.
Canada announced on Tuesday that they are shutting down its borders to all foreigners except for US citizens due to the coronavirus outbreak in North America.
The men are scheduled to play three weeks after the Langford tournament in London on May 23.
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Latest Comments
Great read on a fascinating topic.
Couple of questions related to Bristol and Black Ferns.
They were properly hammered and struggled to score many points at all in the two European matches preceding the demolition of Leicester. Was it lack of ambition in those matches or a better opponent? This Tigers mob has been less than the sum of their parts since their ugly GP win under Borthwick.
I went to Twickenham with a large group of parents and young ladies from Barnes RFC to watch NZ v England last season. The dads among us were deeply frustrated by how inflexible the Black Ferns were with their strategy to run and not kick and they were duly put to the sword.
Pretty clearly, there is more depth and quality in the England squad and, whilst on any given day (and with the help of a red card), NZ might sneak one the strategy can go horribly wrong given the level of passing and catching skill in the women's game. Was Smith very lucky and it's the wrong way to play big games or was he showing us the way forward? I'm not at all sure.
Go to commentsI can't see them getting to the final of the Champons Cup.
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