All rugby is off again.
Thanks Covid.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) yesterday made the only decision it could and cancelled all rugby this week.
While New Zealand remains at heightened alert levels there will be no rugby or any other sport played.
That means the NPC and Farah Palmer Cup rounds have been postponed for a second consecutive week.
The Heartland Championship, which was meant to get under way last weekend, will be delayed another week.
The Government plans to review the Covid-19 Alert Level settings on Friday and NZR will wait until then to make any decisions on rescheduling the latest round of NPC, Farah Palmer Cup and Heartland Championship matches.
“Everyone wants to be able to play the full schedule and that remains our goal,’’NZR community rugby general manager Steve Lancaster said.
The news for the National Secondary School Championships Top 4 tournament is devoid of any optimism, though.
The New Zealand Schools Rugby Union has made the difficult decision to cancel the tournament for a second consecutive year.
Otago Secondary School Rugby Council chairman Greg Heller said there was no way of pressing ahead with it given the uncertainty over alert levels.
‘‘Really, it was the only decision that could be made,’’ Heller said, adding there was no way of playing the games at a later stage without conflicting with other competitions.
Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley was philosophical about the latest setback.
Otago was scheduled to host Canterbury at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday and the Spirit was also playing Canterbury at the venue the day after.
Kinley is hopeful the games can be played at a later date, but if Covid restrictions remain in place much longer the tournament will have to be rejigged.
‘‘It depends how long this pushes out for but NZR remain committed to playing the season in its entirety,’’ Kinley said.
‘‘They are working on that at the moment and what it might look like.
‘‘We are not at the stage where we’d look at a modified competition yet.’’
If the NPC is delayed much longer, though, the players would need time to prepare for its resumption.
Kinley said while the players are keeping up their fitness and being monitored through online platforms, it is impossible to simulate physical contact while living in a bubble.
‘‘If it does go longer, NZR’s high performance team are looking at what training protocols and return to play protocols might look like, because players will need a set number of contact sessions before they are able to play.
‘‘That all depends on how long we are away from contact training.’’
If the home game against Canterbury cannot be rescheduled it would be a financial hit for Otago.
‘‘I can’t give you an exact number on that but it would be a hit to the union. That will be happening to all businesses, not just sport.
‘‘With the Government re-establishing the wage subsidy, that will help any organisation going through tough times.’’
