1
Super Rugby Aotearoa clash delayed following New Zealand's rise in COVID-19 alert levels
By Online Editors
New Zealand Rugby has announced the Crusaders Super Rugby Aotearoa round two match against the Hurricanes will be delayed by one day in a bid to allow fans to attend the match at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch next Sunday.
Originally scheduled for this Saturday, the Crusaders v Hurricanes match will now kick off at 4.35pm on Sunday.
The new date would allow fans to attend the match, provided New Zealand’s current COVID alert levels do not last more than their scheduled seven days.
The Government moved Auckland to level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to level 2 on Sunday morning with the restrictions in place until Saturday, 6 March. Super Rugby Aotearoa matches will be played without crowds at level 2.
NZR Head of Professional Rugby and Performance Chris Lendrum said: “Nobody wants to play in an empty stadium and the opportunity to move the match 24 hours seems like the right thing to do for the Crusaders, their fans, and their players.”
Consideration had also been given to moving the Chiefs' round two Friday night home match against the Highlanders to Sunday afternoon, but on balance it was agreed only one of the two matches could be moved and that Christchurch was the preference.
“We are fortunate our broadcast partner Sky does an incredible job bringing Super Rugby Aotearoa to our fans and the match will provide some welcome Friday night entertainment, hopefully as we near the end of the latest round of COVID restrictions.”
Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said the change was a great result and another example of rugby working together in difficult times.
“Our fans mean a lot to our club and to our players and if there was an opportunity to have our community there for our first home match of the season then we were always going to take it.
“It’s a credit to the Hurricanes and to Sky for making this happen so quickly and as we’ve seen throughout COVID our rugby whanau have quickly come together for the good of the game.”
Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins said he was disappointed for the club’s loyal fans but understood the reasons for moving just one of the two matches to Sunday.
“It’s a tricky situation, but when it comes to COVID we are all committed to doing the right thing and taking a zero-risk approach to the health and safety of our fans, which means no crowds at level two.
"We looked closely at the possibility of playing on Sunday, but in the end we understood the rationale for only moving one match.
“We’re lucky the match will be live on Sky Sport and I know Chiefs fans will be glued to their televisions, or other devices, to cheer on the team on Friday night.”
- New Zealand Rugby
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Edinburgh face anxious wait over Duhan van der Merwe
3
Multiple clubs swarming to lure Chris Harris from Gloucester
4
Catalogue of logistical mishaps leads to crazy numbers in Test match
5
Latest Comments
Was strange game, full of errors and the usual refereeing decisions. Both teams suffered as a result but Ospreys discipline was a major factor. I think this weekend will be different as the Ospreys will pick a full strength team but Scarlets will gain confidence in the fact that only Tipuric was missing in the forwards and they dominated that pack for the whole 80 minutes. If they can repeat that dominance at scrum and breakdown then the Scarlets backs will always have more to offer on the front foot.
Go to commentsAll non-British and Irish players should be excluded anyway. It should be for players born in the UK and Ireland not imports on residency! The Barbarians have sold out and are now a predominantly a SH team and the Lions are going the same way. It would be interesting to see what is on VDM’s passport, probably still South Africa. I feel quite strongly on this and would hope that the Lions committee see it the same way but money talks and so the decline begins.
Go to comments