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The question that 'dominated the changing room chats' in SA this week
By Warren Fortune
Stormers head coach John Dobson hopes the United Rugby Championship can continue as planned in the new year, after disruptions to Round Six and Seven.
South Africa’s four franchises were set to enjoy home games against European sides in those rounds, but it was called off due to the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant.
The four travelling teams – Munster, Cardiff, Scarlets and Zebre – scrambled to get out of the country late last week.
The Scarlets and Zebre only left the country on Sunday, while Munster and Cardiff, who were set to leave on the same day, remained behind after positive COVID-19 cases in their ranks.
The majority of Munster’s squad eventually returned to Ireland on Wednesday, while Cardiff only left the country on Friday.
Dobson, whose team was set to play Zebre last Saturday, said there were questions on whether games could have been played while those teams were still in the country.
“It’s a good point that has dominated the changing room chats over the last week,” said Dobson.
“I don’t want to say anything out of turn, but if the teams were still here on a Sunday or a Monday or Tuesday, then for the integrity of the competition it would have been great to have played [those games].
“I wasn’t part of the [discussions around the] deeper reasons why we couldn’t play.
“Everybody was asking me why we didn’t play.
“We haven’t got an answer.”
The Stormers coach hopes better decisions are made around these issues in the future.
“I think a lot of people in a lot of sports around the world have gone through a helluva lot,” Dobson added.
“I just hope there is a balanced reaction to it and not sort of pulling the plug on the whole thing.
“We saw on tour this competition has enormous potential.
“I would have loved these two weekends to have taken place.
“We went up there to strange conditions. We went to places we have never been before, with referees we hadn’t had before and all without our internationals.
“I hope we can get back to playing those games in the new year.
“I hope we can sort the travel stuff out sooner rather than later, so that we can still play Zebre here and that we can still go over there and play Scarlets.
“I think any other construction will be tough for the tournament to have a really great season. It’s got so much potential.”
The Stormers will face the Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.
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Latest Comments
I think you have gone in the wrong direction here Nick. I think you need to delve down into the rules etc around Moana Pacifica’s selection policies and then you need to understand that a lot of KIWI BORN rugby players have PI heritage. It appears ok for the 4 home nations to pillage NZ born players constantly without retribution but you want to question whether NZ BORN players should be eligible for NZ? Seems a real agenda in there.
Go back and look at the actual Aims and agenda for MP becoming a entity and you see lots of things enshrined in policy that you arnt mentioning here. EG there is an allowance for a percentage of MP to be NZ eligible. This was done so MP could actually become competitive. Lets be real. If it wasnt this way then MP would not be competitive.
There also seems to be some sort of claim ( mainly from the NH ) that NZ is “cashing in” on MP, which , quite frankly is a major error. Are you aware of how much MP costs NZR Financially?
39 NZ born rugby players played at the last world cup for Samoa or Tonga. PLUS plenty for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.
Taumoefolau is a BORN AND BRED NZer. However I very strongly doubt he will be an AB, but who do you believe he should be allowed to play for? Levi Aumua is ALSO a born and bred Kiwi.
Aumua was eligible to represent Samoa and Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup in July that year but ended up playing for neither. He IS eligible for his nation of Birth too Nick
He is a Kiwi. Are you saying an NZ born, raised Kiwi cant play for NZ now?
Sorry Nick Kiwi born and bred actually qualify for NZ.
Go to commentsYeah, Richie certainly stepped up for the ABs in 2022 and 2023 and proved he could translate his skills into the test arena. You have to understand many fans checked out at that point though, only to tune back in for a directionless WC final.
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