The Highlanders' match against the Rebels has been moved from Queenstown to Sydney due to the extension of the travel pause between Victoria and New Zealand triggered by a Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
The Highlanders had been scheduled to play the Rebels at 2.35pm on Sunday at the Sir JohnDavies Oval in Queenstown, but will now travel to Australia on Saturday to play their Round 3 match at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.
The match in Sydney will now kick-off at 5pm.
The Melbourne-based Rebels had moved to Sydney on Wednesday in the hope of flying to New Zealand on Saturday, but due to the worsening outbreak in Victoria and the New Zealand Government's extension of the travel suspension, the team are stranded in Australia.
Victoria will move into a seven-day lockdown from tonight.
Highlanders CEO Roger Clark said the club were disappointed for the people of Queenstown, fans, and the wider region, but grateful that the match could still go ahead.
"Our players and coaches were really looking forward to heading to Queenstown for what would have been a fantastic day and we share the disappointment of our fans that we won't be able to make it this season," Clark said.
"We certainly feel for everyone involved in the game, we received such great support from Mayor Jim Boult, Destination Queenstown, NZSki and the people of Queenstown in the preparation for this event, as an organisation we are extremely disappointed that we could not deliver the match as scheduled."
Ticketek will be in contact directly with ticketholders shortly confirming the refund process.
"Fortunately, the Rebels were able to move out of Melbourne and relocate to Sydney on Wednesday and we're pleased to be able to play the match and chase the competition points," Clark said.
New Zealand Rugby general manager of professional rugby Chris Lendrum said the health and safety of players and fans remained the number one priority for all parties.
"We are pleased to be able to keep the competition going, but are working closely with Sanzaar, Rugby Australia and the Rebels to ensure all measures are in place to keep the Highlanders players, coaches, and management safe."
All Rebels players and staff would be tested for Covid-19 before Sunday's match. The Rebels are also continuing to check the locations of interest named by the Victorian State Government and at this stage no team members have been to any of the locations listed.
Supercars postponed
Supercars has been forced to postpone this weekend's round at Winton due to Victoria's escalating Covid crisis.
The series was due to head to the country Victorian circuit near Benalla for the fifth round of the championship, but the state's looming lockdown has put the round on hold.
Victoria will be plunged into a seven-day lockdown from midnight (local time) on Thursday.
Supercars hopes to reschedule the round at Winton for July 31 to August 1, which it will confirm in the next week.
"While regrettable, today's decision has been made to ensure the health and safety of all Supercars fans, staff and teams," Supercars said in a statement.
The next round of the Supercars championship is the Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway in mid-June.
Winton's adjournment means Ford's fightback in the championship has been put on ice after the Mustang's clean-sweep of the last round at The Bend.
Shane van Gisbergen. Photo / Photosport
Commodores won the opening eight races of the season, six of those by Kiwi Triple Eight star Shane van Gisbergen, who owns a 190-point lead in the championship over his teammate Jamie Whincup.
But Ford hit back in South Australia with wins to Andre Heimgartner, Anton De Pasquale and Cameron Waters.
It is the second time this year Supercars has been forced to postpone a round due to a Covid outbreak.
The round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania was also pushed back a week after the cluster in Brisbane in late March.
