Fingers crossed for mid-September rugby restart for Hawke's Bay Magpies

A Battle of the Bays in more ways than one as Hawke's Bay beat Bay of Plenty in a Ranfurly Shield match in 2015. This year's battle could be the first post-Covid-19 lockdown match. Photo / File

Rugby unions are working towards a possible interprovincial restart on the weekend of the Hawke's Bay Magpies' Battle of the Bays and Ranfurly Shield match against Bay of Plenty in Napier later this month.

With no certainties as Covid-19 level restrictions enter their third week, Hawke's Bay Rugby Union chief executive Jay Campbell said that "all going well" games could resume in the September 17-19 round, including the Sunday afternoon match at McLean Park.

He said it is the will of the New Zealand and provincial unions throughout the country to complete the Bunnings Warehouse NPC, Heartland Championship and women's Farah Palmer Cup competitions.

If need be, the season would be extended to mid-November, including playing all matches postponed because of the lockdown.

Among the matches postponed were Magpies games against Canterbury (in Christchurch), a Ranfurly Shield defence against Waikato, an away game which was to have been played against Manawatū in Palmerston North this Sunday and a Ranfurly Shield defence against North Harbour.

It is hoped that, if the games do resume late this month, the postponed matches would be played at the back end of the season with semifinals and finals pushed back to mid-November.

He said Zoom meetings were taking place daily among union executives, chairmen and others, with several options being considered, but no rugby is able to be played in the level 4 or 3 alert conditions.

The level 3 alert is in place in all areas south of Auckland until next week, to be reviewed on Monday, but Auckland is in level 4 lockdown for a fortnight. That situation will next be reviewed on September 13, raising concerns about whether Auckland, North Harbour and Counties Manukau can play any further part in the competitions this season.

Campbell said everything was being done to keep players fit within the constraints of lockdown, with credit going to the team staff, including trainer Luke Stephenson in helping with programmes that could be done from home.

A small number of the team are in "bubbles" as flatmates and have been able to work out together. The squad usually gathered on an almost daily basis but has now not been together for more than a fortnight.