Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Why the PRO14 can't be played behind closed doors

The PRO14 has been suspended as a result of Covid-19.

PRO14 considered hosting matches behind closed doors, but decided to follow a “sensible and responsible approach” in dealing with the current situation regarding the spread of the Coronavirus, which led to the championship being suspended on Friday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tournament Director David Jordan said that there was a discussion about hosting games without fans, but in the end the health and welfare of players, fans and administrators made it impossible.

The travel restrictions in the five countries that Celtic Rugby operates in also put paid to the idea.

Continue reading below

Video Spacer

“It certainly was something we considered but if you can’t get teams to and from a venue, then it doesn’t make much sense. It isn’t just the fact that travel restrictions are already in place, it is also the question of will there be more travel restrictions in place in a couple of days’ time when you are travelling to other countries,” Jordan said.

“The sensible and responsible approach from our point of view is we just have to pause and reflect a bit and monitor the situation. We have ways in which we can restart our competition with a bit of an adjustment here and there.

“We can try and get our season completed in some shape or form but we just need to let things develop a bit further before we can make any decisions on how best to achieve that.

“It is a difficult set of circumstances but at the end of the day people’s health come first. From a Celtic Rugby point of view, because we are a union-owned entity we have got the support of our national federations. It is a challenge from a health point of view and a financial point of view.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Jordan added that there are a number of clubs that have put their players on a pre-season training programme and any restart of the competition would have to take this into account.

“One of the other things we have to take into account is local conditions. The players in Italy have basically been told the restrictions have been imposed and you shouldn’t be in groups, you should be at home,” he explained.

“A lot of clubs have put their players on fitness programmes as they would do in a pre-season environment and there is something similar happening in Ireland as well. As you can imagine from a rugby point of view, to be match ready would be a problem. It is another part of the decision-making process.”

PRO14 Rugby has been engaged in ongoing discussions with broadcasters and “we have kept them informed of the decisions and rationale behind them” and will continue to keep all stakeholders informed.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We will review the situation on a daily basis,” Jordan added and PRO14 Rugby will make any future announcements as the situation deems necessary.

– PRO14/Brendan Nel

Watch: Sharks coach Sean Everitt on going back the top of the table

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

South Africa v Argentina | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

France v New Zealand | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

England v Wales | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

Tattoos & Rugby: Why are tattoos so popular with sportspeople? | Amber Schonert | Rugby Rising Locker Room Season 2

Lions Share | Episode 3

Zimbabwe vs Kenya | Rugby Africa Cup Semi Final | Full Match Replay

USA vs Spain | Men's International | Full Match Replay

Portugal vs Ireland | Men's International | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

N
NH 1 hour ago
Wallabies player ratings vs British & Irish Lions | 2025 Lions series

Allan and Mcreight best on ground for the wallabies followed by Jorgenson and Wilson imo. Backs largely anonymous on attack but that was largely down to lack of go forward and opportunity. As many have alluded to, every wallaby forward put in a huge shift and showed heart, but they were bullied. Frost, Williams, Faessler, Slipper all lost the physicality battle. Wallabies were ok to good in most areas, lions were just better across most if not all of them. 3 work ons - 1) fix the lineout - that stymied any attacking chance and territory the wbs had in the first half. 2) better kick receipt and chase - lions ‘got the bounce of the ball’ too much which is to say they chased better. We need to win more of these 50/50 possessions. 3) physicality - lose the contest, lose the game. WBs simply lost the contact area too often, going backwards in attack and giving the lions quick ball in attack. Bell, Skelton, Tupou, Lukhan, Valetini should all come into contention for the 23 to provide more starch, but imo id pick for the lineout first so that may mean skelton off the bench. Wallabies need to come out firing and attempt to protect a lead, they can’t chase the game. Schmidt often balances the 23, but he needs to go all in with his starters. bell, best lineout hooker, allan, frost, hooper, valetini, mcreight, wilson, tate, lynagh, jorgo, ikitau, suaalii, peitsch, wright, 2nd best lienout hooker, slipper, tupou, skelton, nick CDC, gordon, JOC, kellaway.

8 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING South Africa U20 player ratings vs New Zealand | World Rugby U20 Championship final Junior Springboks player ratings vs New Zealand